Shirou reads fanfiction
by Raj8
Summary: Zelretch gets bored and decides to get Shirou Saber and Rin from UBW good end to read fanfiction about them.
1. Prologue

Zelretch smiled he had been very bored lately he had gone to many universes but some of the more fun ones had been other dimensional travelers showing alternate worlds to other people their reactions had been truly amusing.

Interestingly they had called the alternate worlds fan fiction and the people had watched the fan fiction on a computer.

After some thought he had decided to do the same on this world as he thought about who to pick he thought about how in several worlds Shirou Emiya had changed things he also decided to add young Aturia Merlin had insisted that messing with her was very fun so he would add her.

Finally he decided to add the Toshaka girl after all she had become a sorcerer in several alternate dimensions. If they choose a world where someone else was very important he would summon them as well.

In a flash of light Shirou, Saber and Rin fell to the ground in seconds Saber had her Armor and Excalibur out, Shirou followed her lead in a flash he had Bakuya and Kanshou out. The only one who did not arm herself was Rin who stood up and shouted "Who has brought us here"

Zelretch stepped out of the shadows and said "I did I brought you here to show you alternate worlds"

"Wait only Zelretch could do that" Rin stuttered out.

Zelretch replied "I am Zelretch the Magician of the Second magic"

This time Saber replied in a tone that implied she did not care " Why should we care Magician alternate worlds do not interest us."

Zelretch replied "You should care alternate worlds can show you many things I brought you to read about some of them on this computer"

This time Shirou spoke up "I don't know much about Magician's but how can we view alternate worlds on a computer."

Zelretch laughed and said "I have used the second magic on this computer that's how and before you ask I'm showing you this because your reactions are bound to be funny."

Zeltretch handed the computer to Rin and vanished. Shirou then asked "What should we do Rin I'm not sure how to get out of here"

Rin reply surprised Shirou and Saber "We should stay here and read about the alternate worlds this might teach me something"

"If you are sure Rin we will stay and read" Saber's reply surprised Rin

"Thank you Shirou, Saber this might teach us something. After all we are going to be seeing alternate versions of ourselves" With that Rin opened the computer and strolled down this looks interesting"

**I know this is a very short chapter but this is just the prologue I know which fan fiction I want them to read first but if the author says no I will have to find something else also how was this as a prologue were the characters realistic in their reactions. Finally I want to say I was inspired to write this after reading Naruto reads Naruto.**

**Now a lot of people say Rin accepted to easily now there is compulsion magic on the laptop while it is not strong enough to actually force Rin to do something she does not want to do it is strong enough that if Rin wants to do something but is holding back in the story Rin really wants to see second magic but is smart enough that she knows it is risky the compulsion destroys caution. On Saber's end the reason she is going along so readily is the fact that she fells guilty. Rin is her master yet she stayed to watch Shirou fight Archer, when in fact she should have saved Rin the result of this is Rin almost being raped then she was saved by Lancer someone Saber dislikes a lot so she now feels guilty despite the fact Rin forgives her. On Shirou's end he is just going along because he feels Rin will be in more danger if he leaves.**

**Finally the biggest magic on the laptop besides the Second magic is a spell that forces all of them to regard this as a possible future even Saber is affected by this albeit at a reduced effect which shows you how strong that feature is. The reason Zelretch put it is the fact that it would be no fun if they did not take it personally.**


	2. The Hill of Swords Chapter One

The **Hill** of **Swords** »by gabriel blessing

When Louise Valliere performed her summons for her familiar, she certainly didn't expect for it to be a human! Strangely enough, the boy she summoned, Shirou Emiya, didn't expect to get summoned so soon. He hadn't even died yet!

Rin smiled as she looked at The hill of Swords "This looks fairly intriguing lets read it."

This caused Zelretch to come out of the shadows "Heh you are choosing that world good choice never the less I feel compelled to tell you that Shirou has a different history that means he made different choices in the holy grail war choices that effect him in that world".

Rin looked confused and asked "So what choices did he make."

This caused Zelretch to smile and reply "You will find out in the book."

With that Zelretch melted into the shadows again.

Rin glared at the space Zelretch had occupied but sighted and started reading

**You know, this really wasn't how I saw my day going. I mean, who could have seen this happening? I mean, yeah, technically, I shouldn't be surprised by this. It's not the first time the supernatural intruded on my peaceful days. It's not the first time I've been dragged reluctantly into a strange and ancient tradition and had no choice but to adapt as best I can. Hell, it's not even the first time I've had to deal with summons.**

**It is, however, the first time I was the one being summoned.**

**Well, technically, I suppose I've been summoned before. Only that wouldn't happen to me till after I'm dead. But it still technically happened before, so…**

Rin hit Shirou in the head and said in an annoyed tone "You are not aloud to give me a headache Shirou." Shirou was slightly surprised he understood his future self's thoughts and Rin couldn't.

**You know what? I blame the Root of the World for this. Only something as unfathomably ancient and powerful as that could ever get away with something that really should have paradoxed me out of existence by now.**

This time it was Saber who spoke up "Shirou you should be happy you were not paradocxed out of existence, so you should be thanking the Root not cursing it as you seem to be doing"

**Of course all these ramblings are merely a very thinly veiled attempt to distract myself from the fact that I had just been absorbed by some kind of strange green ovaloid from the middle of a busy intersection, hurtled unfathomable distances through a black inky void, and am now standing in a dispersing cloud of smoke in a grassy courtyard of a castle surrounded by a group of what appears to be gaping students.**

Shirou spoke up for the first time "Really Students what is going on a summoning is not supposed to be in a group is it Rin" Rin reply put a smile on Shirou's face "Since it's summoned you alive and not dead that means this ritual for summoning is not likely the holy grail which means it is possible for a group to summon together."

**A quick glance at my surroundings, and I allow myself to relax a bit. When I had first seen the end of the blackness that announced my arrival at my destination I had decided that caution would be the watch word for my initial response. When the summoning had deposited me some fifty feet above the heads of the unsuspecting students, I had been quick to reinforce my body and adjust myself for the fall. The explosion that marked the base of my summoning concealed my landing pad, but I arranged myself so that I'd most likely land feet first and braced myself for a sudden roll if the ground turned out to be uneven.**

"Shirou while it is impressive that you managed to do this so quickly you cannot do that now can you." Saber asked

"No I cannot which means this version of me is likely older" Shirou replied

**With a brief stumble, I allowed my legs to bend under the force of the impact, and went to one knee and one hand to steady myself as I landed. My other hand I kept out, palm open and ready to trace in a heartbeat. I called to mind six blades and held them ready. I remembered too well the circumstances of when I was the summoner, and there's no way of knowing whether or not there was a spear wielding maniac just waiting to carve up my own erstwhile summoner that I'd need to drive off.**

This time Saber spoke sarcastically "Really Shirou spear wielding maniac" Shirou shrugged

"Still now that I think about it that description fits him quite well" Saber looked happy that Lancer was getting insulted.

"I understand you dislike Lancer because he tease's you" Shirou was interrupted by Saber glaring at him, Shirou instantly shut up and stayed quiet.

**I find it mildly ironic that one of the blades I had in mind was the same one that had been used against me on that day.**

This surprised Shirou he had sworn only to use that lance if he was protecting someone as the malice would overthrow him if he did not have the proper resolve. Shirou wondered if his future self had conquered it. With a shrug of his soldiers Shirou let go of his concern he would find the answers in the story.

**Still, I keep myself low to the ground in order to decrease my height profile, and prepare myself to leap in any direction if necessary. Despite the smoke blocking my view my senses were attuned and I have an accurate estimate on the position of everyone in the field. And when a gentle breeze thins the sulfurous smoke around me enough for my eyes to be useful sensory organs once more, I raise them to look at the one who had summoned me.**

**Young. That's the first thing I can think of to describe the girl in front of me. She was very thin of frame, with a head of long hair, so strawberry blonde that it appeared almost pink in the high sunlight, and eyes such a light shade of brown that they appeared almost amber. When our eyes met I can feel it: the soft thrill of a magic not mine own coursing through me, humming in both the veins of my blood and the circuits of my magic. There is no doubt in my mind: this is the girl who has summoned me.**

**For the first endless moment where we both caught sight of each other I debate in my head how I should respond to this. I was clearly summoned, but beyond that I have no other idea what is going on. From experience in the past I know that an integral part of the summoning ritual was ensuring that the summoned creature would know what was necessary for it to survive in the age and environment to which it was summoned, as well as the knowledge of the specific goals of the particular summoning. However the only thing I can feel in the strange magic cycling through me is the certain knowledge that the one in front of me is the one responsible for bringing me to this place. I debate for a moment over how I should respond to this, and while I kneel silently the crowd around me begins to break out in to incomprehensible chattering.**

**One of the crowd, apparently another student with red hair and one of the biggest chests I've ever seen, calls out something which sounds mocking and begins to laugh in an obviously stilted and cruel manner. I take note of both the hostility and the fact that I can't comprehend just what it is that was being said. As I decipher more of the crowd, my eyes still locked on the eyes of my summoner, I take note of the fact that the language being spoken was unfamiliar. It sounds vaguely like English, but only in a phonetic way. I can make no sense of either the vocabulary or the verb structure. The pink haired girl in front of me seems as reluctant as me to break eye contact, but whatever the redhead said, it's apparently enough to break the moment. Her eyes drag away from me and she snaps something to the bald fellow in glasses with a staff standing nearby. The bald fellow says something in return, and the two argue for a moment.**

**I take advantage of the brief interlude to note the details of my surroundings. I notice instantly that I'm the only one there not in some kind of uniform. This is also attached to the fact that most of the apparent students there seem to be paired up with a variety of animals, ranging from the mundane to the truly bizarre. One of them seems to have a floating eyeball, while another has a snake wrapped around them. Besides them is a girl with a small frog perched prominently on her shoulder, and another with what appears to be an honest to freaking gods dragon collapsed next to her in a relaxed manner.**

This time when Saber spoke up her voice was warm with pride "I am proud that one day you will be able to make quick and accurate checks of the environment" The way Saber glowed made Shirou slightly jealous of his future self. Snap out of it Shirou told himself.

**It doesn't seem a far stretch of logic, all things considered, to piece together just what's going on here. It seems to be some kind of group ritual, maybe a coming of age ceremony of some kind, and me arriving seems to have caused a stir. It looks like this ritual wasn't intended to call for Servants. Maybe some kind of spirit animal or familiar of sorts? I'll need more information before coming to any specific conclusions, but so far my logic seems pretty sound.**

This time it was Rin's turn to be impressed "Wow Shirou you figured that out immediately it looks like some day you will be a second class mage" Shirou responded sarcastically "Thank you Rin I am so glad to move from third class to second." In response Rin glared at Shirou and then turned back to the Laptop.

**I turn my attention back to the pink haired girl and the bald man. It looks like my presence was causing some kind of dispute, and the girl looked like she was on the losing end of its conclusion. She also doesn't look happy about this at all.**

**So as I kneel there silently watching all around me, I make a split second decision on just how I'm going to respond.**

**It only seems fair. It appears as though this girl has been shamed by somehow improperly casting a summoning ritual. As one who has himself been on the commanding side of a similarly miscast ritual, it's only fair I respond in the same way as the one I called. For now at least.**

"So you are going to imitate me Shirou" Saber questioned

"I can see why my future self will you being as you are helped me a lot." Shirou replied in response Saber's cheeks turned slightly red.

**Moving more than my eyes for the first time since I arrived I stand to my full height. The sudden movement causes a brief stir amongst the watchers, and draws the attention of the arguing student and teacher. My movement seems to startle the pink haired girl, and she unconsciously shrinks back a little bit when I reveal my full height. I knew even back as a teenager that once I finished growing I'd be a great bit taller than the average Japanese male. Judging from the bald instructor nearby, I'm still a bit tall for wherever it is I've been called to, but not as noticeably as back home. Still, the girl in front of me is short even by Japanese standards, so I stand nearly head shoulder and chest above her. Looking down at her, I speak for the first time.**

**"I ask of you, are you my Master?"**

This time Saber was smiling "Really Shirou are you going to copy everything I did."

"Saber please" Shirou broke off blushing in embarrassment

**I could tell that my words confused them. It was obvious that they were having just as much luck deciphering what I'm trying to say as I am what they are. Still, even if she can't understand my words, she can understand my tone and posture. Though non-confrontational, I clearly project confidence despite my sudden arrival and I carefully shape the tone of my voice into an obvious question.**

**She stutters lightly once, and then says something short and abrupt, an obvious question herself.**

**"Upon your summoning, I have come forth. I ask of you again, are you my Master?"**

**It seems she finally understands that I speak an entirely different language then she does. A brief thrill of chatter circles the crowd of watching students, who seem to be regarding the whole spectacle with great amusement. The redhead girl that had laughed earlier said something again, following her words by even more laughter, this time less intentionally cruel and more just her just finding the situation incredibly amusing. This goads my summoner into action and she drew herself up imperviously and made a sharp motion with her hand while issuing what sounds like a peremptory command. From the movement of her hand I can deduce what she's trying to say.**

**With a brief nod of my head in acknowledgment, I once more take a knee before her. Rather than the crouch I had taken earlier in preparation for action, this one was straight backed and proud, like a knight before a queen. Apparently both my deductive ability and my proud stance helped alleviate some of the girl's embarrassment, and she manages to regain her bearing. With the look of someone who has resigned themselves to their fate, she points her wand at me, yes, and honest to god wand, and began chanting something. Ah. This should help. It appears that the ritual was incomplete.**

**I waited patiently, and finally she appeared to finish the incantation and with a grimace closed her eyes and leaned in.**

**Ah. Heh. Sealed with a kiss I see.**

Rin was glaring at the computer while Saber looked slightly jealous.

**After the act was finished she stepped back with her eyes still closed before finally opening them. Even as the bald instructor said something that sounded important, I felt the magic of the summons in my circuits begin to heat. It spread like fire coursing down through my body till it finally centered on my left hand. With a grimace I glance down and noticed that I seemed to be emitting smoke. Like fire indeed.**

**I choked back a grimace and raised my hand in front of my face, noting location the magic was burning towards emitting a bright light, literally burning through my muscle flesh and skin, inscribing a mark that looked vaguely runic in my hand even as my fist opened itself desperately as the muscles went off as though they'd been plugged into a wall socket. For a brief moment I felt a ping of worry about this. Is it really such a good idea to let myself get suckered into a contract like this? Bad things can happen if you're not careful about exactly who you sign yourself up with. Especially when the contract is signed with a magi.**

This time it was Rin's time to be pissed "Shirou I cant believe you idiot you could be forced to do all kinds of things."

**Well, no point in worrying about it now. If worse comes to worse, I can always either kill my summoner, or just use Rule Breaker on myself.**

This caused Rin to deflate "Kill Shirou looks like your future self is more okay with it then you are." And as much as Shirou wanted to deny it looking at how small his summoner was he did not think he could kill her. His future self apparently did not have those problems.

**Finally, the pain ended and I stopped having to choke back a groan of pain. With a final glance at the runes on my hand I clenched my now aching fist. The loud sound of my fingers cracking echoed through the still onlookers. After committing the runes to memory with a mental note to look them up later, I turned my gaze back to my summoner, who looked vaguely disturbed by the whole process and the obvious pain it put me through. Turning my fist in order to display the marks to her I spoke again.**

**"With this the pact is complete. I am awaiting your orders, Master."**

**I'd assumed that with the completion of the contract, it'd iron out some of the minor details that had been concerning me. Like the language barrier. And just what the hell I was summoned for.**

**When the bald man spoke again and I still couldn't understand what he said, I also realized that I still didn't know just what task I'm supposed to team up with this girl to accomplish. Great.**

***Scene break***

**It was several very frustrating hours later that the problem of the language barrier was taken care of. Those few hours mostly consisted of me patiently pointing at objects around me, saying their names in Japanese, and trying to convince my Master to say the same object in her language. She seemed less then inclined to participate. Most of the time she responded with a string of angry sounding words with occasional wild gesticulations thrown in. At least, I assume she wasn't participating. I guess it's actually possible that her languages word for 'chair' really did take thirty seconds to say and involved shook fists, but I doubt it. Still, I persevered. No matter how annoyed she was over the process, until the two of us could properly communicate, there would be no way our partnership could possibly succeed. Besides that, I needed information badly. Just where was I? I haven't seen any sign of electricity or any kind of modern appliance. Not a fridge, a stove, hell even a light bulb. I knew eventually I was going to have to use the restroom and the only thing I could pray for there was at least they had running water for toilets. Or at least some kind of hygiene spell available.**

This caused Rin to laugh "At least you can worry about that right Saber." Saber was glaring at the laptop Shirou was clueless on what was happening.

**Finally, it looked as though the stress of the day finally caused my Master's apparently very short temper to snap. With a brief incantation and a flick of her wand, I quite unexpectedly found myself in the center of a brief low powered explosion.**

**Yes. Definitely very short tempered.**

**"My my," I groused to myself sounding resigned. "It looks like I've been summoned by a terrifying Master indeed."**

**"I understood that!" the girl said sounding surprised.**

**"And I understood that," I responded, equally surprised. We both stared at each other briefly before I shook it off and continued. "If that was a spell meant for us to understand each other, than it was quite possibly the most violent translation spell I've ever witnessed."**

**The girl just sighed and looked at her wand forlornly. "It was supposed to be a silence spell."**

This time Rin stopped reading in shock "Silence spells can fail pretty easily but a silence spell transforming into a translation spell. Wow Shirou you are going to be having problems aren't you." And with that Rin laughed she obviously found this amusing

**My eyebrow twitched, ever so slightly, just once. "I see." She was just trying to shut me up? A terrifying master indeed. I shrug it off and stand up from the ground where the explosion had sent me. "Well then. Allow me to make the introduction that I was not able to earlier." While once more towering over her, I inclined my back into a bow, placing one hand over my chest. "I am called Emiya Shirou. Though I appear to have been summoned without a class, I can serve proficiently as either Archer or Saber. I can also serve with passing adequacy as Castor, Lancer, or Assassin. My skills as either Rider or Berserker are lacking, so I sincerely hope neither of those were your intended Servant." Raising my head I met her confused eyes. "Now, I ask you for the third time, this time in words we both can comprehend: Are you my Master?"**

This time when Saber spoke up her voice had approval in it "Good job I am proud of how you seem to be able to fill most rolls but Assassin Shirou I never thought you would have a what did you put it as passing adequacy in assassination." Shirou shrugged but his thoughts were moving a mile a minute what caused me to become an adequate Assassin I can see everything else but how did assassination help save people.

**Apparently the speech I had carefully prepared seemed to go right over her head. "Archer or Saber? Without a class?" The terminology seemed to confused her, and she tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes for a moment, apparently attempting to find some reference to the terms I've been dropping left and right. Finally it appeared as though she either didn't recognize them, or simply didn't think them relevant. Shaking her head she dismissed the matter off hand. Assuming a proud stance, back arched with her hands on her hips and with her chin thrust upwards, she continued. "Never mind that! Yes, I am your Master, familiar. And it is good that you can now understand me at least." And just like that, she began undressing. "Now first, you can take these and wash them." She threw the shirt and skirt that she was now no longer wearing at my face and turned to open the cabinet behind her. "I can't believe that I got a commoner as a familiar! Why such a simple looking thing? I wanted a griffin, or a dragon, or something powerful and majestic like that. Why a commoner?" she lamented to the air, apparently dismissing me both as a male and as a person without a second thought now that we could finally properly converse.**

**My eyebrow twitched again more fiercely this time. With very enforced casualness I took the skirt and blouse from where they had wrapped around my face and held them between my pointer finger and thumb. Holding them gingerly away from me I watched as my Master, who apparently thought that now that I could understand her orders, I would now obey them without question or hesitation. As she, in a complete disregard for my presence, began to change her panties my eyes flickered down to her hands. When I found both of the back of her hands bare, my suspicions were confirmed.**

**My vision was briefly obscured when she flicked her discarded panties over her shoulder and somehow managed to nail me directly in the face with them without glancing back. "Wash those too," she commanded me imperiously.**

This time Saber exploded "I can not believe this child if she ordered me to do that I would have killed her where she stands unless she used a command seal."

**"You know," I remind her dryly, "In my homeland after one person introduces themselves, typically the other person does as well, Master."**

**"I am Louise Francoise Lu Blanc de La Valliere, a noble, and I won't be addressed in such a tone by a commoner," the newly introduced Louise said in a huff. "Now, take those and the rest of the laundry and get to work. If you come back before they're clean you'll be forced to sleep outside for the night."**

**"From your actions I can tell that you are, perhaps, unfamiliar with the nuances of having summoned a Servant," I respond, in the same tone of voice as earlier despite her chastisement. "I take it from your statements that human summons are unusual in whatever ritual it was you performed that brought me here."**

**"Why are you presuming to talk to me when I have already given you an order, familiar?" Louise demanded of me, her hands on her hips and nose in the air once more. The fact that she had done so while preparing to put on her nightclothes and was thus still completely naked managed to diminish her air of displeasure. "It is your duty as a familiar to obey! Now hurry up, or there will be no food for a week for you!"**

**I chuckled despite myself. "Very well, Master. Is there anymore that require washing?" The apparent amusement that her orders drew from me seemed to irritate her, but she simply waved a hand towards a corner with a small laundry basket. "Will you be going to sleep while I take of these?"**

**"Yes," she said, noticing my familiar way of speaking to her and not seeming to like it but choosing not to comment on it. "I shall expect you to have my outfit prepared for me in the morning."**

**"At what time should I wake you?" I ask her, gathering together her discarded raiment.**

**She took a second to consider this before finally settling on, "Dawn."**

**"When this task is completed, is it acceptable that I familiarize myself with the castle?" I paused at the doorway, waiting for a response.**

**"Hmm. It will be helpful if you know the way around if I have any errands for you. Very well," she deigned to respond to me as she crawled into her bed and settled herself beneath the blankets.**

**"And one more thing before you sleep, Master," I continue. "Where is it I shall be sleeping?"**

**Without another word she waved her hand to a spot against the wall a few feet from the bed that was covered in straw. I couldn't contain the laughter the whole situation had been drawing from me, and my mirth echoed through the room as I shut the door behind me.**

**Still chuckling I made my way down, following from memory the path we had taken up to the tower dormitories earlier in reverse. Ordering a Servant to do the laundry, speaking to them in such a disrespectful fashion, even expecting one to sleep on a pile of straw like a dog, and all without a command spell to enforce any of these ridiculous orders? I can't help but imagine some of the Servants' I've interacted with in the past responses to this ridiculous situation and the very thought is enough to make me burst out into giggles again. The very thought of someone like Gilgamesh or Cu Chulainn in an apron washing a girl's underwear…**

This caused Shirou to burst in laughter as he imagined that The mental image caused Saber to smile softly while it caused Rin to grin wickedly.

**Alright, I guess it's not really that funny, considering that if such a situation actually were to occur the girl would probably be forced to endure a horrible death for daring to do presume so much.**

The reminder of real life caused their mirth to go away.

**At the base of the tower I came across what appeared to be two more students, a male and a female. The boy was posed extravagantly, wearing a black coat with a frilly white shirt, one arm on his hip and the other in the air holding a rose next to his face. The girl was in what appeared t o be the standard uniform with a brown cloak and declaring something about soufflés. That caught my interest. I've always meant to learn how to bake those.**

This time Rin voice had exasperation "Really Shirou even your future self is interested in cooking." Ignoring Rin Shirou smiled so far it was hard to see himself in his future self it was little things like this that proved they were the same person. Saber on the other hand had a daydreaming look as she imagined Soufflés made by Shirou.

**"I would be glad to have some," the boy assured the girl grandly.**

**"Really?" she said, her hands clasped in front of her in maidenly innocence. I almost felt sorry for the poor girl, seeing as this guy obviously some kind of lothario.**

**"Really, Katie," he assured her. "I cannot tell lies in front of your eyes." It was a good line, but seemed a little to scripted for my tastes. I continue past them without a second glance.**

**The boy apparently recognized me because once my back was turned I heard him call out, "You. Aren't you the commoner that Louise summoned?"**

**"So it seems," I tell him, not sparing him a glance. I had already placed him as one of the students that had been laughing at Louise when she had called me forth. Probably better not to get to friendly with him until I see what her stance is.**

**After all, no point in making friends if it turns out they're bitter enemies and I'll have to kill him.**

Rin smiled "At least you grew out of make friends with everyone stage."

**"Hmph," he snorted disdainfully, and I can just imagine him striking a pose for the on looking enraptured girl. "How rude. It must be a terrible shame to have something as boorish as a commoner for a familiar."**

**"Still better than a giant mole," I call back to him, and then turned a corner while he was still in the midst of sputtering in outrage over my taunt. I only had to be polite to one person in this castle, and she was currently asleep in her bed. It was another two turns before I found what I was looking for. In front of me, quietly running a feather duster over a series of vases, was a maid.**

**"Excuse me," I said from behind her, and the girl jumped in surprise. Though it wasn't my intention I seemed to have snuck up on her. When she whirled, she came face to chest with me, and her eyes widened as she squeaked slightly while she glanced up to finally see my face. "Excuse me," I said again, giving her a gentle and disarming smile. "Would you happen to know where I can find a washboard?"**

Saber growled at the memory of what Shirou was supposed to do.

***Scene Break***

**It was past midnight as I stood on the highest spear of the highest tower of what I now knew to be a magical academy. The moon was a bright crescent in the sky that was unnaturally clear compared to the skies of my home world.**

**Yes, my home world, not my homeland.**

**It seems that once more a summoning spell shows no respect for the common laws of time and space. Is this my fate I wonder? To constantly be summoned to impossible times and places and bound to serve small precocious magi? My future self, after my death, with Tohsaka Rin, my current self with this Louise Valliere, there definitely seemed to be some kind of trend forming here. **

Rin was glaring at Shirou for comparing her with the brat.

**Still, I am not Archer, nor is Louise Rin. Archer was a bitter, cynical, and disillusioned version of me, and while I definitely might have developed my own cynical side, I still haven't reached the point where I have any inclination to discard the beliefs that I have taken as my own.**

This caused Shirou to breathe a sigh in relief and caused Rin to stop glaring. Saber just stared at the laptop mournfully.

**And Louise, for all the physical similarities like size and hairstyle, she is definitely no Rin. Rin at least had an integral understanding of what it meant to have summoned a Servant. She had been a driven, intelligent, and battle oriented magi of proud lineage, one who knew the responsibilities of her power and was strove above all else to maintain herself in a manner which she could be proud of.**

This caused Rin to start blushing "Stupid Shirou" she spun around not facing me or the laptop for a full minute and when she turned back I know if I laughed I would be murdered in a horrible way so I stayed silent.

**So far Louise seemed to be more along the lines of a spoiled self absorbed little princess who obviously had views of what was appropriate that conflicted with the harsh light of reality.**

**The maid, whose name turned out to be Siesta, had been quite willing to speak with me as she showed me where the cleaning supplies for the castle were kept. Though she appeared to originally have been intimidated by my size and the fact that I had been summoned, she quickly warmed up to me as I treated her politely and familiarly. She had even stayed behind to help me wash a bit of the pile of clothes I was working my way through. That proved to be a godsend seeing as I had no idea how to use the old fashion hand washer she had provided me with. Still, she couldn't linger long and quickly had to return to her own duties.**

**But while she was helping me she did manage to answer many of the questions that I had about my current whereabouts. She was also able to explain to me the difference between nobles and commoners. The nobles were the equivalent of the aristocracy of medieval Europe, and they were apparently every one of them magi. They practiced their arts freely and quite often without regard to the consequences, and looked down upon and subjugated those who could not freely command the powers of magic like they did. They were for the most part flighty, self absorbed, and arrogant bastards.**

**For someone such as me, who was raised to practice my arts in secret and with great respect to the power which I wield, the very thought of them left a bad taste in my mouth.**

Rin smiled happy that one day Shirou would respect the sacrifices normal magi did.

**Still, this was where I was summoned to. Best make the most of it I suppose.**

**As I prepared to go inside, my ears caught the faintest sound of flapping wings. With a frown, I focused my magic to my ears and eyes. The technique was called reinforcing, and was typically used to strengthen either foreign objects or one's own body. Few of the magi in my home world practiced it much, most rather spending their time on more productive magics, but for me reinforcement was one of my most necessary and best skills. Consequentially, I had mastered it to the point that I was even able to affect my own senses with it, sharpening my sight and hearing to superhuman levels.**

This time Shirou sighed he was happy his other self figured it out but he was still slightly jealous.

**I'd done some experimenting with doing the same to my sense of smell, but so far those experiments had ended with abject and humiliating failures that I'd really rather not talk about.**

This caused Rin to develop a scary grin "Oh really Shirou when you experiment with smell we are so going to be there." This caused Shirou to gulp and he prayed that it would not be to embarrassing.

**With my enhanced senses I was able to track the source of the noise. Some hundred yards above me and in front of me was the girl and the dragon that I had picked out of the crowd at my summoning before. The girl was exceptionally thin and had the brightest blue hair I'd ever seen. Grasped firmly in one hand was a long crooked staff, vaguely reminiscent of a shepherd's crook. Even in the dark I could feel her curious gaze upon me.**

**I raised my hand in greeting to the distant watcher, and she seemed mildly startled that I had managed to pick her out at such a distance in the dark. My own form was lit from below by the lights of the castle which should have even further narrowed my night vision. Almost reluctantly, the girl raised her own staff in response to my greeting.**

**With a final look at the girl, I turned my attention back to the castle below me, and then stepped off the ledge. I plummeted nearly eight stories down, the wind tugging at my clothing and whipping my semi short hair around my ears as I waited patiently for my feet to strike the ground. With another round of reinforcement in my legs, I landed easily.**

This caused Rin to gulp "You did it Shirou but when you experiment you are only aloud to start on 1 floor jumping got it." The look caused Shirou to jump he was quick to say "Yes Rin"

**As I turned nonchalantly to enter the tower that I had been standing on top before from the base, the rush of wind beneath powerful wings buffeted me suddenly. With a curios glance I saw the dragon and it's rider who had before been nearly a hundred yards away now no more than a dozen. The beasts powerful wings pumped hard, pulling itself out of what had no doubt been a very fast and hard dive. The rider grasped the dragons neck tightly, in order to keep herself from being thrown from her mount. Her eyes were locked on mine, and this time I could clearly see shock on them. What on earth….?**

**Ah.**

**"Were you trying to save me?" I asked her with a smile.**

**In a voice almost too quiet for me to hear, even with my reinforced ears she answered, "Yes."**

**She had seen me step off the ledge and probably assumed that I was going to kill myself, and had gallantly swooped down in an effort to try and keep me from splattering all over the ground. She had not expected for me to be able to take the fall so easily and without injury. I could see the question in her eyes as she tried to figure out just how I had done so.**

**"That's quite kind of you. Though it wasn't really necessary, I thank you anyway," I turn to face her completely and bow to her, my smile even wider now. The dragon settled to the ground and let loose a soft trill like purr as the rider dismounted. She was short, almost as short as Louise.**

**"How?" she ask. It took me a second to figure out she was trying to ask and I spoke up to confirm before answering.**

**"How did I survive?" She didn't respond verbally, just gave the briefest lowering of her head in a nod. I give her a crooked smile. I had managed to pick up by now that most of the students who knew of my existence had assumed that I was what they called a 'commoner', someone who couldn't use magic. For the first time since my arrival here, I reveal to another that that presumption was wrong. "Though nowhere near as flashy as the spells I've see around here, my own magic is nothing to scoff at either." When her eyes widen as she realizes what I'm implying, I give her a brief wink before turning around and walking back into the tower. Though she seemed a pleasant enough person, just like before it wouldn't do for me to get to involved with anyone until I know just where they stood in relation to my Master.**

**Like I said, it'd be a shame to have to kill them after growing to like them.**

***Scene Break***

_**That night, Louise dreamed of swords and battle. She wasn't sure why, but it played out before her like actors on a stage. Of these two actors, one a man in blue with a red lance and the other in black and white carrying what looked like rolled parchment, she suddenly realized that she recognized one. Though younger, the one without the lance was the commoner she had summoned earlier, Emiya Shirou. Why was she dreaming about something as unimportant as her familiar, she wondered to herself, before dismissing the thought.**_

Saber was surprised as she said "The dream cycle"

_**It was a dream after all. No doubt brought upon stress of her abysmal failure. Even in sleep it haunted her!**_

_**Still, the battle was pretty pathetic. Her young familiar was thrown through the air and into a strange building, his weapon shattered by a strong blow from the lancer. **_

_**And as the lancer closed, his weapon which even in her dreams sent chills down her spine from the sheer evil it seemed to emit, a glow from behind her fallen familiar lit the dream scape.**_

_**And from that glow came a girl.**_

_**She was like no girl Louise had ever seen. There were no frills, no lace, no dress of courtly stature on her frame. She was garbed in armor and blue, and there was no doubt in Louise's dream mind that this was no commoner. The stance, the bearing, the demeanor of the girl in blue was enough to almost send dream Louise to her knees in deference.**_

This caused Rin to bark a reply "Heh even a spoiled girl like that knows you are her superior."

_**For some reason, the posture of the girl in blue reminded Louise of something. It was the same posture that her own familiar had shown when she had performed her failed summon.**_

This caused Saber to grudgingly admit that "Shirou you did a good job at imitating me." Rin was glaring at the computer as she muttered "So you will be respectful to the brat and not me huh Archer."

_**Ah, dream Louise thought to herself. No doubt the shame of her failure had caused her to even dream of summoning. **_

_**In a blur of motion, the girl in blue drove the red lancer away from her familiar. Standing there in the moonlight, with the regal air of a drawn sword about her, the girl in blue looked down upon her familiar and spoke.**_

**"**_**Servant Saber. Upon your summoning I have come forth. I ask of you, are you my Master?"**_

_**The same words her familiar had spoken to her that very same day not just minutes before she had slept. She truly must be troubled if so much of her day is being mixed in to her dreams.**_

_**And so Louise slept, and dreamed of swords and battle.**_

_**It would not be the last time she did so.**_

**Author notes **

**Most of this is going to be reading occasionally Zelretch will change to a video so he can see their reactons.**


	3. The Hill of Swords Chapter Two

**It was precisely dawn when I woke my master up. Placing one hand on her shoulder while standing by her bedside, I shook her gently while speaking in a normal tone of voice, "Master, it's time to get up."**

**I have to hand it to her: she looked absolutely adorable while waking. It looked like she had all the morning graces of Rin: that is, absolutely none.**

At this Rin audibly growled and glared at Shirou. Shirou's thought on this was Nooo my own thoughts are going to betray me.

**She mumbled something that vaguely sounded like "murgle" while sitting up and rubbing her drooping eyelids, before letting loose both a jaw dislocating yawn and a back cracking overhand stretch simultaneously. Her white nightshirt drooped on one shoulder cutely.**

**"I've laid out your garments over there on the table, Master," I tell her, backing away to stand by the spot I had slept in myself. My own sleep stance, that of sitting back against the wall with one leg up to support my arms and head wasn't meant to be a comfortable one, and it had taken me more than a few good stretches before I had worked the kinds out. But it is one of the best ready stances for sudden waking, and I still haven't learned just what Louise's stances are when it comes to enemies. For all I knew she's some kind of exiled princess with endless amounts of assassins after her. Or, considering my own brief interaction with her, she could have just pissed off one of her classmates enough to the point where they might decide to try and pull a prank on her or something.**

That caused Rin to laugh "I agree with the pranks but the chance she's a princess are so low." Rin would have continued for awhile but Saber cut her off "This is Shirou we are tacking about remember." That caused Rin to stop and think when had odds ever apply to Shirou.

**"Huh," she managed to articulate, the grunt sounding as much as gratitude as a question. It looks like she still hadn't quite managed to place me. I don't blame her. It took me a while to get used to my own Servant's presence immediately after I summoned her.**

**"I wasn't certain if it would be appropriate for me to select undergarments, so I refrained from doing so at the moment," I continued, enjoying throwing all this at her while she was still too confused to respond. "Nor was I certain if I should prepare anything else. I still don't know the schedule of this school, so I wasn't certain if it I should have prepared tea, or if everyone eats together."**

This time when Saber spoke it was clear surprising a smile "Looks like you are okay with girl's panties now" It was clear Saber was joking which caused Shirou and Rin to stare at her. Saber looking irritated now said "I do have a sense of humor you know" Slowly as if still shocked Rin resumed watching the laptop.

**"Wha?" she said. It looked like her brain was finally beginning to catch up to her. Better make my escape before she gathers herself together enough to make any more demeaning orders. I swear by Heaven's Feel if she tries to make me do something as stupid as dressing her, I'm going to whack her upside the head, and the really wouldn't be an appropriate Master/Servant interaction. Well, sometimes it would be, but I don't think she's quite ready for that kind of informality. She still seems to be under the impression that when I call myself a Servant that I mean I'm a maid.**

**"Very well then, Master. I shall leave so that you might have the privacy you require. I shall await you in the courtyard," I tell her, making it sound like my actions were all quite reasonable and not giving her a moment to respond I opened the door, sketched her a polite bow, and then exited quickly before she could get a word in, shutting the door behind me firmly.**

**The trip down to the courtyard was quicker than it was last night. During my period with the maid, Siesta, I had gotten a brief description of which buildings housed which facilities, and after completing Louise's laundry I had made certain to check each one out personally. I also made sure to pass through as many of the hallways as I could, and had managed to compile a somewhat sketchy but workable mental map of the school. I can double check them later in order to asses them for defensibility if I need to, but so far it doesn't look like I'm going to be requiring too much violence right away, so I let myself slack off a little in that regards. I think the more important thing for me to worry about now is catching my summoner up on the important protocols of our relationship, but it'd be more appropriate for me to do that when we had plenty of time.**

**As I waited for Louise to finally put herself together enough to be seen in public, I leaned back against the wall besides the door to the dormitory tower, crossing my arm and propping one leg up. I let my eyes drift shut, though I made certain to take note of the noises surrounding me, making sure to identify each one and rank them according to their probably threat level. When the two particular ones drew near me, I let one of my eyes crack open so I could identify just who was approaching.**

**"Well, well," one of my approachers said. It was the chesty redhead from the day before, the one who had made it a point mock Louise at my summoning. "Well, if it isn't the familiar commoner that Louise 'summoned'." She raised one hand to her mouth, mockingly covering up the smirk that she was wearing. "Tell me, how much is she paying you for this ruse? You are just some commoner she snuck in to fool everyone when she failed her spell, aren't you?" She let loose another set of mocking laughter.**

"While I can understand why they would think the brat would hire an actor Shirou does not look like one" Rin informed the laptop.

**I eye balled her for a second, before ignoring her completely and turning to the second figure who had accompanied her. I gave the second figure a warm smile. "Well good morning to you, noble rider. Did you sleep well?" The blue haired girl, the one with the dragon who had last night tried to save me was nearly overshadowed by the much taller and fuller figured redhead. Her staff was held securely in one hand, and the other held up a small book, which she had her face buried in. Even as she nodded a response to my question, her eyes continued to dart back and forth, tracing the texts she was reading.**

**The redhead didn't seem to like my obvious blow off, but her ire was overshadowed by surprise at my familiar greeting to her companion. "Tabitha, do you know this commoner?" The blue haired girl nodded again, and for a brief second her eyes left the page and glanced at me. The regarded me coolly, taking in my tall lank form. I wonder what she thought of my outfit? The summon had dragged me from off a busy street, so I was wearing simple blue jeans, running shoes, and an un-tucked red button down shirt. It didn't seem to out of place style wise, but I'm sure the jeans probably seemed unusual to them. I doubt they had denim here. The girl, Tabitha, regarded me briefly, no doubt remembering last night's encounter herself, and my casual mention of my own magic capabilities. Despite the redheads continued use of the word 'commoner', which in this place denoted those unable to use magic, the bluette made no move to correct her companion, and instead simply resumed her reading, and began walking away in the direction of the dining hall. The redhead shot me one last look, this one more curious than disdainful before hurrying to catch up with her quieter companion, already peppering her with questions.**

**"Familiar," I strident voice called out beside me. Well, it looks like Louise has finally decided to show up. She nearly burst out of the door, glancing around the courtyard quickly while trying to locate me. I spoke up beside her, causing her to jump and whirl in shock.**

**"Here, Master." She eyed me, and I kicked off the wall easily, allowing my arms to unfold and swing down by my side. "And where shall we be heading now?"**

**She eyed me briefly, apparently once more taking displeasure at the familiar form of my address for her, but also noticing my free use of the word 'Master' and getting confused. I could tell if she couldn't quite decide if I was being appropriately deferential for her tastes, or inappropriately familiar for her tastes. Either way, she answered my question. "To the dining hall. It's nearly time for breakfast to be served. You mentioned last night familiarizing yourself with the castle. Have you done so?"**

**She set off without waiting for me to respond, obviously expecting me to follow. I did so as I answered. "I have learned all the places which aren't deemed private or protected. I have also learned the majority of the hallways. I'd like to go through them again during the day to see if I've missed any details, but I have enough knowledge to navigate with."**

**She nodded in approval. "Good. As for your performance this morning," she continued, and I grinned slightly where she couldn't see it. Good, she picked up the fact that I had been leading her on. Looks like my Master is a sharp one. "In the future, you will set out all of my outfit, even the undergarments. I have no specific tastes, and if the time comes for me to wear more appropriate ones I shall choose them myself, seeing as a commoner would have no knowledge of what is appropriate. There is no need for any food or drink to be ready; those are all taken care of at the dining hall." She was addressing each of the concerns I spoke of while she was still half asleep. Good. An eye for appropriate details. "Also, while a servant is around a noble will not dress themselves. You will not leave the room until I am appropriately attired," she ordered.**

**Here is where I broke in. "Some would consider it inappropriate for a male to be present while a woman is changing," I said dryly.**

When Saber spoke it was clear she was suppressing her anger "It looks like it is the master this time that does not believe the servant is human this is an interesting reversal of our situation."

**"You are not a male!" she declared hotly, turning to glare at me. Oh? Last time I checked… "You are a familiar. It is no more inappropriate for a familiar to be around me while changing then it would be for a dog."**

**My eyes narrowed, and my expression lost its cheerfulness. "Is that so, Master?"**

**She seemed surprised by my sudden coldness. So far despite every unreasonable order she had given me, and every abuse she had heaped on me, I had remained a cheerful if somewhat sardonic demeanor. The fact that I was even capable of taking offense to something she said seemed completely unfathomable for her.**

**She really did have no idea just what she had done when she had summoned me. It looks like my explanation might have to be a bit pointed.**

**Still, she managed to get a handle on her surprise, and moved onto being indignant over my response. "I will not have a familiar take that tone of voice with me. I was going to allow you to dine with me in the hall, but now you will not be eating at all." My expression did not change at all at this imperious declaration.**

**"As you order, Master."**

***Scene Break***

**Naturally, I ignored that order completely. The moment she stormed off into the dining hall while leaving me outside with the rest of the familiars, I left myself for the kitchen. It was a quick walk, seeing as it had to be right next to the dining hall in order to ensure that the nobles had their food hot. And it was on that brief trip that I had a pleasant surprise.**

"Normally I would tell you not to ignore your master but with a master like that" Rin trailed off looking sorry for Shirou for the first time

**"Ah! Mr. Shirou," Siesta called out to me brightly, as she bustled with quick efficiency, stacking food onto trays and trays on to carts. "Good morning!"**

**"Good morning to you too, Siesta," I smiled at her. She beamed up at me happily, having moved past the point where she found my size intimidating.**

**"What brings you here today, Mr. Shirou?" she asked, setting aside her task and turning to face me, her hands clasped in front of her skirt in a show of deference.**

"Looks like this is much like my own time" Saber observed

**"Please, just call me Shirou," I assured her. "And it seems that I have displeased my Master somewhat and have been left to fend for myself in regards to food."**

**"That's just terrible!" she declared, looking affronted by my enforced fast. Her face set itself into a pretty frown, and she put one hand up to her face as she contemplated my predicament.**

**Sure enough, no more than five minutes later I had been introduced to the chef, a strong looking man with a healthy disrespect for the nobility and a strong sense of sympathy for someone being put out upon by one. It took no more than a pout by Siesta, and I was eating a fine stew with warm bread for breakfast.**

**It pays to be in good with the help.**

**I ate quickly finishing the stew fast, and with a nod of thanks at the chef returned to the courtyard with the rest of the familiars. I worked more slowly on the bread, taking my time to savor it whilst I assumed a leaning position against the cold stone of the castle. It really was fine bread.**

**It was so good that I almost didn't notice the large form that approached me from my left. With a quick glance in the direction to see just who it was that was trying to sneak up on me, I paused, and then looked over the one trying to get close without me noticing.**

**Well. The dragon from before certainly seemed much bigger up close.**

**The great blue beast was beside me, its body slung low to the ground, neck fully outstretched, and its head only a foot away from me. When it realized that I had noticed its approach, it froze completely. Just what was it doing here? Was it about to attack me? I was under the impression that familiars were quite docile and good natured. No more than six feet away from me an enormous serpent was coiled right next to a bunny without making any effort to try and eat it. Same as with an owl and a mouse, the two actually cuddling against each other with complete disregard for the food chain.**

"Magic" Saber shook her head exasperated

"Should this not be a good thing Saber with magic the animals all get along" Rin reply was pointed.

"True but I am more comfortable with the natural food chain" Saber's reply surprised Rin

"Really why." Rin was confused Saber was not the type to believe the strong ate the weak.

"Merlin tried doing something similar once and made some animals eat food not on their diet they became sick a couple of my people ate those sick animals. They got sick as well so forgive me but I prefer a normal food chain,"

**Had the girl, Tabitha, perhaps ordered her familiar to attack me when there were no other witnesses? If so, the dragon was doing a poor job of it. It was just standing there, frozen in what seemed almost like panic, its eyes locked on…**

**Wait a sec. I lifted the remaining bread in my hand to my mouth to take a bite of it. Sure enough, the dragon's eyes followed the movement, a steady unblinking look. I waved the bread gently in front of it, and its entire neck and head moved so that its eyes could stay locked on the last of the morsel.**

**"So," I said, a little uncertain. "You want a bite?" The dragon's eyes instantly darted up to my face, and it began to nod its head enthusiastically. It was so enthusiastic I could actually trace the waves of the heads motion as they caused ripples in its neck. It was strange, and a bit disturbing.**

**It was also more than a little adorable.**

**With a bemused chuckle, I tore one final bite from the bread and then held it out to the beast on my open palm. It let loose a happy trill, its eyes closed in pleasure before opening its mouth. A long red tongue darted out and wrapped around the bread in a prehensile manner before snapping back into its mouth. The dragon sat up, sitting back on its haunches like a cat, its eyes closed happily as shook its wings in joy while it ate. I laughed again. It finished its meal, and then looked at me closely. Its head darted down, and it started to nudge me quickly all over.**

**"Hey! Settle down! I don't have any more food, I promise," I let loose an unmanly squawk as the searching head managed to find a ticklish spot on my ribs and rubbed there furiously.**

When Rin spoke she too was suppressing a smile "Oh are you ticklish Emiya-kun" Once more Shirou cursed as his thoughts betrayed him.

**The dragon brought its head directly in front of mine, meeting my eyes hopefully. "Seriously. That was all I brought," I protested, holding my empty hands up to show that yes I really wasn't hiding food from it.**

"Really Shirou you should have carried more food" Saber said to Shirou

"How was I suppose to know a dragon would come by wanting food?" Shirou's response stumped Saber so she did not answer Shirou's question.

**The beast let loose a sad warble and collapsed to the ground, seemingly crushed by the hopelessness of the world. I grinned as I slid down beside it, reaching out tentatively to rub the ridges of its eyes. "There, there. It's not that bad. I'm sure your master will bring you some food soon enough." My soothing words, or maybe just my rubbing fingers, caused it to close its eyes again and let loose another warble of contentment.**

Saber was looking jealous, Shirou was looking freaked out at the fact that Saber was jealous and Rin was giggling softly.

**I cocked my head to the side. "You know, boy, I always figured that dragons would be a bit more intimidating." It shot me an agrieved look, and then purposely angled its head so it was looking away from me, obviously offended. I noticed that it still kept its head in range of my fingers though.**

**"Now, don't be like that," I chided getting a kick out of interacting with something so big and so legendary in my homeland. "I take it back! You're quite noble, a great being of majesty, so awesome in presence that I can barely keep myself from bowing in worship, boy," I assure it. This seems to soothe the beast's ego, but it still shot me an offended look. Now why is… Ah. I see. "I'm sorry. You're a girl, aren't you?" **

When Saber spoke it surprised the others "It took you long enough to notice Shirou." Scolding the laptop she acted as though the other dimension Shirou could hear her.

**The dragon nodded again. "Well, I should have noticed that right away, seeing as how lovely you are." I lay it on a little thick, but the dragon seems to eat it up. It closed its eyes in happiness and lifted its head to nuzzle my chest again, nearly knocking me off the wall with its enthusiasm.**

**She finally clamped down on the back of my shirt, and lifted me bodily into the air. "Hey now!" I protested the man handling, er, dragon handling. Ignoring my cries, she walked in a circle three times, still holding me up in the air before finally laying down on her side, resting her head against her tail creating an encircled space and depositing me in the place, resting against her scaled chest. Before I could properly move, she then put a wing over me, effectively enclosing me from all sides. She let loose a soft trill again, and then apparently fell asleep on the spot.**

Rin once more burst into giggling, Shirou was glaring at Rin meanwhile Saber narrowed her eyes at the computer.

**Well, this was quite possibly the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me.**

***Scene Break***

**"Familiar," a voice called out stridently, waking me from the half doze I'd found myself slipping into. "Familiar, attend me," it repeated. It was dark and warm where I was. Why was it so dark again?**

**Oh yeah. The warm wall of dragon surrounding me was a surprisingly comfortable place to rest. I stretched slightly before trying to nudge the dragon to wake her up so I could move about.**

**The dragon gave something that sounded like a snore and ignored me.**

**"The damn dog," I could hear Louise mutter. "Running off like this. It seems the food wasn't enough punishment. I'll have him whipped for this…"**

**Yeah, right.**

**"In here, Master," I called out. I heard a sudden 'eep' and a few gasps.**

**"The dragon talked!" a surprised male voice exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.**

**"Is that you, familiar?" Louise called, sounding hesitant.**

**"Yes, Master, it certainly is," I reported dryly. The dragon I was laying against began to stir as all the noises around her finally began reach her sleep addled head. It let loose a yawn, and briefly squirmed around, before seeming to suddenly remember I was lying against it.**

**"W-w-w-what on earth are you doing in there?" Louise asked, sounding completely baffled by my circumstances.**

**"I seem to have made a friend," was the only way I could really think to explain it. The dragon finally got around to waking all the way up, and shifted her wings. At last I could see the sky again. Surrounding us were quite a few of the students who had apparently finally finished their meals and were now once more gathered around me and my summoner, enjoying the spectacle. I waved sardonically at a gaping Louise while the dragon remembered who I was and that she liked me and began nuzzling me again, knocking me flat to the ground.**

**"T-T-T-Tabitha!" Louise demanded, rounding on one of the spectators. "What is your familiar doing to mine!" It seemed that the redhead and the bluette seemed to spend a lot of time together, as the two were once more in each other's company. The redhead seemed as astounded as the rest by this strange development, gaping along with the rest of the crowd.**

**Tabitha just kept on reading.**

**I finally got the dragon to calm down by scratching it once more on the eye ridge. It closed its eyes and began to warble continuously, apparently composing a song in delight. Either that or giving me instructions on where to scratch.**

**"Ah man. I thought the dragon could talk," the same voice from earlier said, the speaker himself indistinguishable in the crowd.**

**"Don't be stupid. Everyone knows that dragons can't talk," a female voice corrected him.**

**The dragon turned her head to glare in the direction of the speakers, and then dismissed them as unimportant in comparison to her eye scratching.**

**"Your familiar is quite affectionate," I inform Tabitha. The girl just glanced up once, looked from me to the affectionate beast, and then started walking.**

**"Come," was all she said, and the dragon reluctantly parted. As she walked by, the dragon made sure to brush her entire length against me, much like the way an affectionate cat would. Of course, since the dragon was roughly the size of a mini-van plus tail, it knocked me flat on my butt once again. With a brief sigh, I righted myself once more, and brushing dirt off I moved to stand beside Louise, who was still gaping in the direction of the dragon.**

**"You know," I said casually following her gaze. "When I woke up today, the last thing that crossed my mind that would happen would be being abducted by a giant flying lizard. I honestly have no idea how to respond to that," I admitted.**

"I know you should go ask if you can ride the dragon" Saber reply surprised the other's

"Why would I want to ride a dragon" Shirou's response made Saber glare at him

"I always wanted to ride a dragon." Saber continued as if Shirou had not spoken. Rin cleared her throat and resumed reading

**"Yeah," she agreed, apparently so distracted by the improbability of the event that she completely forgot to be mad or haughty.**

**"So where to now, Master," I asked, bringing her back to the present. She shook her head briefly, causing her hair to fly around her like a pink waterfall as she gathered her thoughts, and then turned back to me.**

**"There are no classes today," she informed me, and then began walking off, expecting me to follow obediently. I followed, walking beside her and a bit behind. "There will be a small gathering where students who just summoned are supposed to open communication with their familiars instead."**

**"Good. There are a number of things we need to talk about." This seemed like the perfect time to clear up a few minor misunderstandings. Like the one where she can get away with trying to starve me and having me whipped.**

**"Familiar," she snapped at me crossly, "Don't presume to use that tone of voice on me, you dog!"**

**"Servant," I correct her, interrupting her. The suddenness of my interruption completely threw her off track. "The correct term for me is 'Servant', not 'familiar'."**

**"Dog!" she snarled at me clenching her little hands into fists and arching her back like a cat that just got rubbed backwards. "You don't talk back to me! You are my familiar and I'll…"**

**"Servant," and all the cheer congeniality went out of me like candle being snuffed by a wind. My voice was as cold as ice now, and my posture was predatory. "You will address me by my proper title, Master, just as I address you."**

**"W-w-w-what?" she stuttered, apparently so angry at my presumption that she lost the ability to form coherent sentences.**

**"There are number of issues with summoning humans that you seem to be completely unaware of," I continue. "And if this partnership is going to work, then you need to learn just what those issues are."**

**"Partnership?" she shrieked. "It seems I've been too lax with you! You are my familiar and you will obey!"**

**Before what promised to be a completely unproductive fight could properly start, our discussion was interrupted.**

**"Well, well," a familiar voice drawled out. Both mine and Louise's heads, which had been drawing closer and closer as our argument got fiercer, whipped to the side to address the one who interrupted us.**

**"WHAT?" we both snapped at the familiar redhead in complete unison. The startled redhead actually flinched backwards in surprise. She recovered quickly.**

**"What's this? Not only is your familiar disobedient, but addressing a noble in such a manner?" she commented, her hand coming up to once more conceal a vicious smirk in such a way that it didn't conceal it at all. "The commoner demanding more money to put up with faking being your familiar?"**

**"What?" Louise ground out, still enraged by our argument, but not understanding the reference the redhead was making. I filled her in.**

**"She thinks you faked the summoning by causing an explosion, and that I'm a paid actor you got for the job," I tell her, mastering my temper much faster than Louise could. I've got experience cooling myself down before I go overboard. It's a valuable skill.**

"One you still need to learn Shirou thankfully it looks like your future self learns it."

**"That is ridiculous!" Louise snapped, and now she was angry at the redhead instead. "I performed the summons and this just showed up," at 'this' she waved at me furiously. "Kirche, have you been going around spreading this lie?" she demanded.**

**"Okay, before I get distracted," I interrupted, and the two turned to look at me, the redhead who was apparently named Kirche curious and Louise still angry but unable to decide which of the two of us to take it out on. "What the hell is that?" I pointed down at the very large lizard that appeared to have its tail on fire. It was staring up at me with wide eyes, and let loose a little croak when it saw the attention was on it.**

**"Oh? Never seen a salamander before, commoner?" Kirche said crouching down to tickle the lizards chin. It croaked happily, but never took its eyes off of me.**

**"Is that what it is?" I know it was a bad mark on my attention span to so suddenly pull my attention away from the argument me and my Master were having, but it was such an unusual looking thing that I just couldn't help it. Magical creatures like this and the dragon were quite rare back in my home world. I crouched down too so that I could look at it better myself.**

"Aww I wish I was there then I could have experimented on the familiars." Rin groaned.

**Kirche seemed to like the fact that she was getting attention, even if only through proxy of her familiar. I reached out gently, and stroked it lightly across the eye ridge like I did with the dragon earlier. It croaked happily. "Yes. As my contracted familiar, it is naturally completely obedient to its master," she said, taking the opportunity to get a shot in at Louise.**

**Whatever response Louise was going to give was cut off as the salamander quite suddenly jumped me.**

**"Wha-!" I have got out, startled by the lizards sudden move when it began croaking happily and licking my face like a puppy. The suddenness of the action derailed the argument in its tracks and now both of the redheads were staring at me in surprise.**

**"What is it with you and reptiles?" Louise demanded, sounding frustrated by the second time today her Servant had been molested by affectionate scaly things.**

**"You know, I honestly don't know," I said, equally confused by the action. The salamander kept licking me, so I figured I'd be polite and keep scratching its eye ridge. "This never happened before. Maybe it has something to do with the contract?" Maybe I was summoned to a class after all. I didn't receive any of the usual information that a summons was supposed to impart to me, so maybe I really did have a class that I was simply unaware of. If so, then it's definitely not one of the ones I'm familiar with. None of the seven I know of has anything about being beloved of lizards.**

This time it was Shirou who spoke up "Rin is there a position that would cause you to be beloved by lizards" Rin replied "None I can think of but that does not mean there is not a position that causes you to be beloved by reptiles one of the reasons off the top of my head is the fact that the position you were summoned in is given dragon charastic to increase strength magic resistance and other things.

**"Well, Flame seems to like you," Kirche said finally. Understatement of the year. "That means you can't be all bad, even if you are a commoner." She turned and walked away, snapping her finger. "Come, Flame."**

**The affectionate red thing gave me one last lick and a croak and then scampered off of me to follow its master. I had to duck backwards to dodge its flaming tail as it did so.**

**Louise and I took a moment to try and get over the strangeness of the event that just happened.**

**"What were we talking about again?" Louise finally said, still staring at the departing duo and scratched her head as she tried to remember.**

**"We were fighting I think," I supplied to her.**

**"Ah!" she clapped a fist into her palm. "That's right!" She turned to me picked up just where she left off. "You are my familiar, and you will obey!" The order was imperious, but much of the heat had been sapped from it.**

**"I am your Servant," I correct her again. The sudden and strange interlude had managed to help me cool my temper as well, so I spoke in an even voice. "And obedience is strictly optional. So far I have been obedient so as to spare you further embarrassment in front of your peers till the opportunity arose where I could inform you of what a human summons involves, but if you continue treat me in such a manner then you will pay the price of trampling on my pride." There is no threat in my voice. I am simply stating a fact.**

**"There is no difference! A familiar is a familiar!" now she seemed frustrated both by my refusal to obey unquestioningly and my constant correction of my title. "Now bring me tea while I contemplate how to punish you for your insolence!" She pointed to the side, gesturing towards one of the maids pushing a cart like the ones Siesta had been loading earlier.**

**"Get it yourself," I tell her, and walk away. I don't know if it was because she was too shocked by my complete dismissal of her order, or if she just thought I was getting tea, but she didn't follow.**

***Scene Break***

**I used my sudden and unexpected (by my Master at least) free time to wonder amongst the students, trying to take their measure as best I could. The students themselves were mostly unremarkable. Their features were for the most part European in nature, though every once in a while some aspect of one of them did stand out more than other. There seemed to be a greater variety of hair color for some reason. There were a variety of different shades of red ranging from the very light like Louise to dark and vibrant like Kirche. There was a great deal of blonds as well, though the spectrum there ranged from platinum to borderline brunette.**

**There was great variety amongst the familiars too. Though many of them seemed to be nothing more than standard fare for back home, cats, dogs, and birds, there were a few that stood out a great deal more than others. The dragon and the salamander were among the most obvious of these examples, but the giant mole was worth mentioning.**

**As well as the giant floating eyeball I was currently in a staring contest with.**

**"Okay. Seriously now. What the hell are you supposed to be?" I complained to it. It blinked at me. When an eye that big blinks, trust me, you notice.**

**"It's a bugbear," a voice from behind me answered. I glanced over my shoulder to find Siesta behind me again, carrying a tray with what looked like cheesecake, or some kind of pie on it.**

**"A bugbear?" I asked skeptically, turning back to look at it. "What part of it resembles either a bug or a bear? It's a freaking floating eyeball." The eye didn't seem to take offense to my blunt assessment, but it did turn away and started to float off. I turned my attention to Siesta to find her giggling into her hand at my response. "Working hard?" I asked her with a smile. She beamed up at me.**

**"Oh yes," she agreed happily. "Forgive my rudeness, but I don't have time to chat for long. I have to deliver this cake." She indicated with a nod towards the table the pastry was destined for and I nodded in response.**

**"I'll accompany you," I tell her, and moved into step beside her.**

**"Oh no," she said, though she didn't sound displeased by my offer. "I mean this is supposed to be a time for you and your master to get to know each other. I'd hate to intrude." Though she said that, she didn't make any further attempt to chase me off.**

**"My Master and I are having a disagreement into the nature of our partnership," I inform her dryly. "I left to give her enough time to cool down before we resume our conversation." And resume it we shall.**

**"A disagreement?" she asked, sounding troubled. I could take a guess why. I'm pretty sure that when commoners and nobles disagree, it generally turns out poorly for the commoner.**

**"Nothing to worry about," I assure her, as we reach the table. She set about serving the two, a girl with long blond hair curled elegantly and a boy whom I remember from last night. A large mole sat half on the boys lap and he stroked it adoringly. A small frog rested in the girl's palm. When the boy requested another tea from Siesta she agreed politely and moved to fulfill the request. I moved to follow when once more the boy spoke to my back.**

**"You again. The boorish commoner that Louise the Zero summoned," the boy said to my back, with the tone of someone who was about to do something cruel in order to impress a girl. Louise the Zero? So my master has a title? It sounded rather ominous. "Off to serve you mistress like the plebian you are?"**

**Well then. A childish taunt thrown at the back of someone he believed wouldn't stand up for themselves. Too bad for him, he left himself way too wide open.**

**"You again. The self absorbed fop from last night," I responded, turning around in time to catch his eyes bugging out over my rather direct insult. "Chatting up another woman like you were last night? What's the matter, the girl in the brown cape's soufflés not good enough for you?"**

**"Y-y-you! How dare you address a noble in such a fashion, commoner?" he demanded, seemingly genuinely shocked that I'd put him in his place so willingly. "I shall have you…"**

**Whatever it was that he was going to have me do was interrupted by the blond girl.**

**"Guiche," she interrupted, her brow furrowing. "What is he talking about?"**

**The boy, Guiche I suppose suddenly looked a lot less concerned about me and more with mending the fence I had just kicked in. "Nothing, Montmorency. The commoner is merely attempting to slander my good name." He leaned in close, taking the blond girl, Montmorency I suppose, by the hand and gazing deep into her eyes. "After all. I…"**

**"Cannot tell lies in front of your eyes?" I supplied for him, causing him to twitch. I turned to the blond girl who looked confused. "Yeah, he used that line on the girl from last night. Katie I think her name was."**

**Now the girl was looking far less confused and far more upset. The hand not holding the frog began to clench and her eyes were definitely narrow as she turned back to the stuttering Guiche. "Lies, all lies," Guiche proclaimed, holding that rose to his face while looking aggrieved at the injustice of facing such base accusations. I noticed something from the corner of my eye as he once more reached forward to rest his hand on the now shaking fist in front of him. "Why would I need another when I already have one whose beauty dwarfs even that of the morning star?" It almost seemed to work in calming the girl down. I guess she was susceptible to flattery.**

**Naturally, I can't let this fire blow out. I was having way too much fun one upping the little brat. And luckily for me, a whole bucket of gas was walking over behind this Guiche's unsuspecting back.**

**"Well, maybe I was mistaken," I admit, and despite the fact that he was probably still pissed at me starting this whole situation, Guiche shot me a grateful look. "We can ask the other girl herself. She's coming this way now," I pointed, and relished the way Guiche turned white as a ghost.**

**"What!" the blond screeched, hitting a fair number of octaves.**

**I gave a small satisfied grin and casually backed away far enough not to get caught up in the explosion that was about to happen. Right when the fireworks were about to start I caught sight of Siesta hurrying back with the tray of tea, looking worried by the commotion that had started in her absence. She saw me looking relaxed amongst the other students who had gathered to watch spectacle, and hurried over to me.**

**"What happened?" she asked breathlessly, distraught by the disruption to the calm tranquility she had left behind.**

**"That guy was caught two timing the two girls, and now he's trying to keep himself from getting slapped," I explain to her, and reach down to the table at my side, picking up a discarded tea cup. I casually filled it with the pot Siesta had kindly arrived with, and turned back just in time to witness Guiche getting his eye blackened and both girls marching away furiously.**

**I took a sip of the tea. Ah. At least these nobles had good taste.**

**As the crowd laughed at his misfortune, Guiche pulled himself off the ground and attempted to find some way to salvage his pride. His eyes settled on me, and I raised my cup to him mockingly.**

**"You," he said. "It appears that you are unaware of the etiquette whilst speaking with nobles," he accused me. The worry Siesta was displaying ratcheted up a notch. It probably never bodes well for commoners when a noble speaks to them like that.**

**"No," I answer casually. "I know them. I just choose not to practice them most of the time," I admit. The flippant answer causes the blonds eyes to narrow in impotent rage.**

**"Then perhaps a duel will help you understand the importance of displaying the appropriate respect when dealing with your betters," he proclaimed, pointing his rose at me dramatically.**

**I froze. Very casually I put down the teacup. I tilted my head to one side and began to dig into my ear with my pinky. My strange response seemed to confuse the posing blonde. When I finally pulled the finger from my ear I picked up the teacup again, and then met his eyes directly.**

**"I seemed to have had something stuck in my ear. Could you repeat that please?"**

**"A duel," he again proclaimed. "I can never forgive one who made two ladies cry."**

**"Then you're going to have trouble looking into a mirror the rest of your life," I couldn't resist the dig, and it got the crowd laughing. I didn't smile though. I continued. "Accepted. When and where?"**

**"I shall be waiting for you on the grounds in front of the vestry," he proclaimed and whirled away, all dramatic cape and wounded pride.**

**Siesta seemed beside herself in fear. "Shirou! What are you doing?" she demanded, her worry causing her voice to be shrill.**

**"Familiar!" another voice interrupted, and both me and the maid turned our head sideways. Thundering toward me was four and a half feet of pink haired feminine fury. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded in a worried tone. "Come on!" she grabbed my hand and started to drag me away. Nearly losing my balance I managed to place the teacup on the table and give a farewell wave to Siesta, who was now on the verge of tears and clutching the silver plate to her chest like a shield.**

**"Where are we going again, Master?" I asked her trying to regain my balance.**

**"To Guiche. If we apologize fast enough maybe he'll forgive you!" she declared. I planted my feet and she nearly dislocated her arm when she suddenly found me as immovable as a mountain.**

**"I refuse that order, Master," I tell her solemnly.**

**"What? Don't you understand that he'll kill you?" she demanded, now looking more worried than mad.**

**I studied her silently for a moment, before speaking. "I was planning on explaining this to you, but perhaps showing you will suffice. But you should know, Master, trying to keep a Servant from battle is futile."**

When Saber spoke she was obviously unsure of how to feel "Looks like your future self learned one important thing."

**"Stop that!" she demanded, referring to my use of the title I had insisted on, nearly pulling her hair out from frustration. "Just what is this 'Servant' thing that you won't let go?"**

**"You're about to find out," I told her, and turned to make my way to the church where Guiche was no doubt waiting, posturing all the while. You know. There's something about that boy that I just don't like. He reminded me far too much of someone that I sincerely detested. I paused and turned to Louise, who had been following me, fuming at my disobedience and the fact that I was acting like I wasn't going to my death. "Master, are you overly fond of Guiche by any chance?"**

**"What?" she asked surprised by my sudden question, before getting a look on her face usually reserved for someone who just bit into a lemon. "No. He's an annoying skirt chaser."**

**"Good," I said, and smiled. I could tell the smile unnerved her. "I would hate to cause my Master discomfort when I kill him."**

***Scene Break***

**"I'm surprised you didn't run away," the fop said straight to my face. The crowd around us tittered in amusement.**

**"No more words," I tell him softly. "Begin the duel."**

**"Hmph," he said, and shrugged exaggeratedly. "So eager to fall?" he asked me. "Who am I to deny your request, commoner." The crowd was eating his acting up. I must have made a boring figure in comparison. For all his smiling and posturing, I responded only with a grim expression.**

**As he finally got around to doing something actually meant for battle, I took careful note of the crowd. I caught sight of Siesta, covering her mouth with both hands and looking so scared that she might become ill. I saw Louise as well, who looked resigned to not being able to stop what was about to happen. She might have tried to make more of an effort to stop it, but my casual declaration of my opponents death, combined with the reminders of all the times I tried to explain that my summoning was different from most seemed to have made her curious as to what was about to happen. I even caught sight of Kirche and Tabitha. Though there was something different about Tabitha this time.**

**She wasn't holding a book. Instead she had locked her eyes on me with a stare so intense it almost was palpable.**

**Only she had any inkling that something more than an uppity commoner getting a beat down was about to happen.**

**"My name is Guiche the Bronze. Therefore the bronze Golem, Valkyrie, shall be your opponent," he declared and from the place where a rose petal had fallen sprouted a tall suit of armor. A golem? And created so casually as well. Interesting. I had no idea what the capabilities of the magi of this world are, so to me this battle was more than just me defending my pride. This was a test to see how I stood in combat.**

**When the golem came at me, fist extended to deliver a painful blow to my diaphragm, I simply reinforced my arm, set my legs, and caught the punch bare fisted with my left hand without flinching.**

**"What?" the surprised nobleman said, completely shocked that I had managed to stop what must have been several hundred pounds of metal without giving an inch.**

**I said what would be both my first words of the battle, and my last. "I am the bone of my sword." I held my right hand to the side.**

**Trace on.**

**My own ability, crafted after countless hours of hard practice, molded and perfected so that only I would most likely ever be able to wield it. The ability to project the magic within me from my circuits into any shape I chose. And I chose swords.**

**Kanshou, the black falchion style Chinese blade, one of a pair forged centuries ago by a nameless husband and wife duo of blacksmiths, came into my hand, the yin-yang symbol on it gleaming in the light. Shocked cries emitted from the crowd, and without flinching I drew the blade across my body twice, returning my hand to the position it came from so fast it was a blur.**

**Too fast. I should not be able to move this fast, even with my reinforcing augmenting my ability to superhuman levels.**

**The runes inscribed on my left hand began to glow, and I felt magic not my own humming through my circuits. I see. It seems my earlier thought might have some truth to it. It seemed I had received a class upon my summoning. I was simply unaware of the traits it granted me.**

When Saber spoke up she was obviously irritated "Why would a summoning not tell the servant their traits."

**Without moving I kept my gaze on the stunned Guiche, even as his bronze golem came apart in front of his eyes, destroyed utterly by my two swings. The golems arm, severed cleanly at the elbow from my return strike was still held up right by my unmoving left arm. I threw it aside, lowered my left arm, and called forth Kanshou's twin, Bakuya. The white sword was every bit as pristine and beautiful as the black sword in my other hand, the colors simply reversed. My opponents eyes widened, and I waited for him to make the next move, not speaking, patient.**

**"I-I-Impossible!" he declared as white as a sheet as he stared at my two blades. "You're just a commoner!"**

**It seemed as though the shock of me being able to perform magic had made him forget about the duel. A shame. I wanted to see more of what he was capable of, but this was a duel.**

**That meant it was time for me to kill him.**

**I shot forward, my movement so fast thanks to the combination of the summoning contract and my own augmenting capabilities that I was nearly a blur. I wasn't attempting to go near my full speed, wanting to hold back my true capabilities for true opponents, but even half-assing it seemed to leave me at this level. My opponent's eyes widened as he realized that I was coming for him, impossibly quick and with two very large, very sharp swords, and he made one more last ditch effort to save himself.**

**The fool actually summoned his own sword. He meant to try and match me in combat.**

**One blow, and the sword he had drawn was wrenched from his grip and sent flying across the courtyard to shatter against the castle wall many yards away. As it flew I took a moment to memorize it's features. It was a fantastic blade, even if it was created hastily, and I would make it a point to trace it later on as a way to show respect to the poor dead fool. I can make his death quick. It's the least I can do for him giving me such a wonderful blade for later.**

**The back of Kanshou found his stomach, doubling him over. The back of Bakuya found the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel in that position. I placed my knee on his back, slammed both the swords so that they made an 'X' right under his neck, and prepared to scissor the blades together. It would take his head instantly, and keep me clean of the spurting blood that would come from the stump.**

**"Yield!" he croaked desperately, moments away from death.**

"They have yields during a dual" Rin raised her eyes skeptically

**I froze.**

**Dead silence rang through the courtyard. They had come expecting a spectacle, and little else. I doubt any of them really believed that anyone would die. They'd get to exercise their rights as nobles to watch another noble smack around a commoner for a bit, maybe seriously injure him, and then they could all go for crumpets and tea while I lay broken and bleeding on the ground behind them.**

**Instead I had shown them death in battle. It lingered in the air, palpable, a tingle on the skin like electricity. I had shown them unstoppable violence, the certain end that awaits all who carry blades to wield against their fellow man.**

**Many of the students were gaping. Many more were white. A few were crying. All were shocked. Even Tabitha, who had no doubt expected something unexpected to happen had not expected this. Her eyes were widened as well, noticeable through her thin glasses, though that was the only change in her expression.**

**"What?" I asked the boy on his knees in front of me, my blades caressing his throat.**

**"Yield, yield, I yield!" he was almost weeping, his eyes locked on the black and white blades on either side of his head.**

**I stood in complete silence, not moving.**

**"I said I yield, what are you waiting for!" he shrieked at me desperately.**

**"I'm debating whether or not to except," I tell him, regarding him from above, and gaped up at me, his head turned so he could see my blank face. Several gasps emitted from the crowd at my frank admission.**

**"What? I said I yield, you have to stop now!" he pleaded.**

**"No, I don't," I tell him. "It's a duel. Whether or not I show mercy is at my discretion."**

**"Servant," a soft voice called out behind me. I almost didn't recognize it. I turned my head so I could meet Louise's eyes.**

**"Yes, Master?" I asked her calmly.**

**"Release him." It wasn't a request. It was an order.**

When Rin spoke up she was obviously impressed at the battle "Shirou you did an amazing job on the battle and at least your master has some spine."

**A smile graced my lips. "As you command, Master." I pulled my knee from the small of his back, allowing him to back away from the razor sharp edges of my blades. He stumbled backwards, desperately crab walking to put as much distance as he could from me. I wasn't done with him yet, so with a quick move I threw both my blades. They buried themselves behind him, quivering on either side of his head and he froze again.**

**"Through your own actions, you shamed yourself," I told him flatly. "Then, once caught in your shame, in order to soothe your pride, you challenged one whom you believed would not be able to defend themselves to mortal combat so that you could recover your reputation through violence upon them. Then, once you discovered that the one you thought to bully was capable of fighting you equally, you attempted to flee from battle. The convictions you were so willing to kill for weren't enough for you to die for." I scowled. "How contemptible. If this is the common attitude amongst those who call themselves 'nobles' then I am exceedingly glad I bear no such title."**

**I turned my back on him and walked to Louise, who had watched the whole exchange. With a snap of my fingers, I released the constructed blades, and they quickly dissolved into thin air. I took note of Louise's expression. She looked scared, but was determined to stand firm in front of her Servant, no matter how different I truly was to what she had thought I was.**

**"Master," I addressed her. "Please quickly make some real enemies for me to destroy. My swords will get dull if swung too often in schoolyard squabbles."**

**"I'll see what I can do," she said back to me, in a dry voice she had no doubt learned from me.**

**I smiled at her response. There is steel in my Master. Good.**

***Scene Break***

**"What is a 'Servant'?" Louise asked of me, her voice very quiet. It looked like my display earlier had drained quite a bit of the spunk out of her.**

**I sipped my tea and then answered. "Servants are weapons of war, battle, and destruction, wielded by their Masters to destroy their enemies and accomplish their goals," I tell her bluntly.**

**It was less than an hour since the disastrous dual. The two of us had returned to the now empty tables that had been set up on the lawn for the purpose of allowing the students to mingle while they familiarized themselves with their familiars. Now, the lawn was nearly vacant. It seemed that my presence caused some of them discomfort. I wonder why.**

**Louise and I had taken seats at one of the tables and were now sipping tea, served to us by a Siesta who appeared to be unable to decide if I deserved to be worshiped for standing up to a noble and winning, or if she should run away screaming from someone who obviously had the will and the capability to kill without mercy.**

**So far the worship seemed to be winning.**

**"What do you mean by that, Shirou?" Louise asked me. She took a sip of her own tea, and had the look of someone who was bracing themselves for finding out that their dear friend they have known all their life was actually Hitler. Still. That was the first time she spoke my name properly.**

**"First off, I should explain to you just why human summons are so rare," I tell her. I found myself unconsciously assuming what I had in the past come to call 'The Tohsaka Rin Lecture Position Number 5'. It involved sitting straight upright, occupying one hand with some meaningless prop, and using the other to emphasize important points with calculated gesticulations.**

When Rin spoke up she was obviously holding her temper in place "You did not name my positions when teaching did you" When Shirou refused to look her in the eye Rin continued speaking "and then you steal my position." As Rin chased Shirou around the room his only thought was Nooo my thoughts keep betraying me.

**Louise perked up at that, showing something other than resignation. I've no doubt she'd been wondering just why she had summoned a human, something which around here was apparently unheard of. I began my explanation.**

**"First of all, I'm sure you know some of the points I'm going to bring up, but I'm not sure which ones, so if I'm covering something you already know, I'm not trying to be insulting, just comprehensive," I assure her. She nodded and I continued. "You are no doubt familiar with just what it means to take a familiar, right? That you insert a bit of magic into them, and the creature that you do it to comes to regard you as well known and superior. For most animals this generally equates the summoner as being a superior member of the pack. For instance if you summon a wolf it would see you simply as a bigger stronger wolf and defer to you by instinct." Louise seemed familiar with all this, and simply nodded. Siesta, who was unashamedly eavesdropping didn't seem to know this and was currently overflowing a cup of tea she had been pretending to pour while she listened in. "The magic also familiarizes the animal with the master in other ways. It interprets the command of the master in ways that the animal can understand. It's best to think of it like a translation spell. The master says an order, and the magic translates it into the growls, or meows, or hisses, or body language even that the animal can comprehend."**

**"I'd never heard that part before," Louise admitted, sounding embarrassed.**

**"It's not commonly known. Most people just need to know that it works, so they don't bother learning the details," I inform her. "Now the problem is that when a human is summoned, the normal amount of magic needed to do the same to them is a lot greater than that of an animal. This is because humans have the mental abilities to discern the order and try to analyze it. They also have the sense of self necessary to decide how the order would affect themselves, and the will power to resist it if it's detrimental to their own health or ideals."**

**I took another sip of tea before continuing. "To put it simply, if you tell a wolf to get between you and an arrow, it'll do it because it doesn't know any better. If you tell a human to do the same, they'll be able to see that you're just ordering them to die in order to protect you, that dying would be bad for their own health, and then they'd tell you to go to hell and dodge the arrow themselves."**

**"I see," Louise said slowly. "So that's why even though familiars are supposed to be completely obedient, you've been able to do just whatever it is you wanted?"**

**"Precisely," I nodded. "Now, even though humans make terrible familiars, they still make great familiars as well." I hold a hand up to stop any interruptions. "Let me explain. Even though a human doesn't have to obey, they're still damn useful when they do. Most familiars can deliver simple messages, maybe do a few minor errands, and maybe protect their masters as a last ditch effort. A human on the other hand can do complex tasks, respond to changes in situations without needing direct supervision, operate machinery, negotiate, pretty much anything that the master could need them to do. You see my point?"**

**"I think so," Louise nodded, her expression thoughtful. "So then it seems to me the problem is getting the familiar to obey you?"**

**"Pretty much. This is where the 'Servant' class comes in. Let's be honest," I tell her, "if you're going to put all the effort into trying to call forth a human summons, the headache of getting them to listen to you, the pains of keeping them in good health and happiness, are you going to want to summon someone useless?"**

**"Well, no," Louise admitted, trying to wrap her head around the idea I was presenting her. "If I was going to have to work so hard on it, I'd want someone who could do a lot…" her eyes widened as a few of the puzzle pieces in her mind clicked.**

**I gave her a grin. "Exactly. When you summon a human, you want the best of the best. You want the greatest warrior, the most powerful magi, the wisest adviser. You're not calling some 'commoner'," I waved my hand in the air to emphasize the word, "you're summoning someone useful. Someone with skills."**

When Saber spoke she was smiling "Looks like you are twisting some things huh Shirou."

**Louise's eyes widened as she stared at me. "So that means…"**

**I nodded. "Yes. When you called me forth you didn't just drag some random guy of the street. You called someone who had the skills and powers necessary to aide you in the path ahead." I gave her another sardonic grin before moving on. "Now, you remember when we first started understanding each other, I told you I was summoned without a class?" She nodded and I continued. "Well 'class' is a way of describing the general skill set of the Servant. I told you I was good as a 'Saber' and as an 'Archer', and that I could do alright as a 'Castor', a 'Lancer', and as an 'Assassin'. I also told you I was no good as either 'Berserker' and 'Rider'."**

**"But what do those mean?" she asked. She was leaning forward eagerly now. I could tell I had just gone from 'humiliating failure' to 'potentially cooler than dragon and griffin combined'.**

**"A Saber is a swordsman. You've already seen that. The Archer is exactly that, an archer. I'm almost as good with projectile weapons as I am with swords. The Lancer is also self explanatory. A Castor," and here I paused expecting an outburst, "is one who can wield magic."**

**"What!" Siesta chimed in, completely forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be paying attention. "Then that means you're a noble?" She looked very distraught about that.**

**"No," I tell her flatly. "I'm not a member of the ruling elite of my homeland. Magic skill is completely independent of social stature where I'm from." I could tell the very thought of it rocked Louise's world to the core. "Now, moving on, the Assassin class is generally those who are physically weak, but very capable in stealth. The Rider is one who rides, think like cavalry, and the Berserker is just that: someone who's strong as hell, but completely crazy."**

**"So you're a magi then?" Louise asked, and I could tell that for some reason the thought of me being able to use magic either pissed her off or drove her into despair. I wonder why?**

**I shrugged ruefully. "I told you I was limited there. I know some techniques, but all of them are focused around my swordsmanship. Basically all my magic goes to my blades." That admission seemed to cheer her up immensely. "Anyway, those are the classes that I'm familiar with. They're the only ones in my homeland at least. I'm going to be honest, even though I know a bit about human summoning, it's not that common even where I'm from."**

**"Why's that?" Louise asked. She had drained her tea and gestured to Siesta to fill it without looking at the maid. She was focused entirely on me and my explanation. My display earlier had shaken a lot of the preconceived notions she had about familiars, and my explanation now was every bit as outlandish to her as my battle.**

**"If you were dragged away from your nice comfortable castle, forced to do some strange man's laundry, sleep on the ground, and then were threatened with no meals and a whipping if you disobeyed, what would you do?" I ask her bluntly.**

**"I would never do such things!" she declared hotly. I could see she hadn't made the connection yet. "Such a thing is beneath the daughter of a duke, and the very thought of being forced to…Oh," she said suddenly, interrupting her own tirade as she finally made the connection. Her face rapidly turned as red as her hair, and she sat down quietly, looking very, very uncomfortable.**

**"Exactly," I tell her. "The majority of the time, the Servant generally kills the Master. Sometimes, they'll torture them first. If they're feeling generous, they might just maim them," with each description Louise got a little less red and a little more white and she shrank further and further into her seat till just her eyes peeked up from below the table. I couldn't help but give a wry smile at her discomfort.**

**Siesta just looked curious. "So why haven't you killed Louise yet, Shirou?" That definitely made the pink haired girl flinch.**

**I shrugged. "I'm generally easy going. I might be good at violence, but I prefer to exercise it only when necessary. Also, I don't mind simple chores. I think doing laundry and cooking is very relaxing. It's a peaceful way to keep the hands busy while letting the mind wander," I admit, not looking at all ashamed of my confession. That seemed to relieve Louise a great deal and impress Siesta. "Beyond that, I just like helping people. I probably would have done many of the things I did for my Master even if she wasn't my Master. But most of all, I hold the positions of Master and Servant in the highest regards," my face was solemn here, and I answered completely seriously. "The pairing of Master and Servant is a sacred and powerful thing in my eyes. The two can accomplish great things if they work together in a unified purpose. The bonds that can form between the two can be stronger than any marriage, any friendship, and any camaraderie," my solemn eyes lock onto Louise's and the intensity there froze her like a mouse before a serpent.**

When Saber spoke she was happy "Shirou I am glad that the reason you tolerate this is because you respect the master and servant position."

**I held her gaze and continued softly. "The reason I didn't kill you where you stood when you summoned me, or simply waited till you were asleep and left was because I was curious. Who was this girl who has called me to her, what was it that let her reach me across the ether? I decided that until I knew, I would at least give her the benefit of the doubt, and behave in the fashion I believed appropriate as a Servant."**

**"Oh," my summoner said softly, looking wide eyed at my confession. Siesta obviously didn't know how to respond to such a frank admission. She was a simple girl, one who did her job, got her pay check, and no doubt dreamed of being swept off her feet by a prince charming. I don't think she'd ever considered the concepts I presented before her.**

**I leaned back, relaxing my posture and letting my Master regain her composure. She looked very small, and very fragile. When she called for a familiar she had been expecting a subservient beast, proud and powerful looking. What she found that had answered was proud and powerful no doubt, but subservient wasn't exactly in the description. It would take her some time to adjust to the differences in what she had expected and what she had received.**

**"There's just a few more points to cover," I finally speak up. "If you'd like, we can save them for later," I offered, giving her a chance to escape and collect her thoughts.**

**"No," she said softly, and then seemed to regain some of her bearings. "No," she said again freely, "continue." She looked like she was bracing herself for more earth shattering revelations.**

**"Just a few simple things," I assure her. "Usually when a summons is performed, three things are prepared ahead of time: the Command Sigils, a unified purpose, and a reagent." I pause to sip my tea and Louise waited patiently. My throat was beginning to dry from all this talking. "The Command Sigils are three holy marks that allow the Master to give three absolute orders to the Servant."**

**"Absolute orders?" Siesta chimed in again, no longer even pretending not to be paying attention. In fact she had drawn up a chair and was sipping tea as well.**

**"Absolute," I confirmed. "Normally, if the Master gives a command that would be repellant to the Servant, they'd refuse. By using a Command Sigil, no matter how much the Servant might dislike it, they'd be forced to obey."**

**"What do you mean by repellant?" Louise asked, not even noticing the maids presence anymore.**

**"I mean repellant," I repeat. "Let's say that the one who summoned was of devout faith and refused to destroy a church that housed an enemy. The Master could compel them to do so no matter how much the Servant might not want to." The example made sense to them, but I felt the need to elaborate so they could understand the true importance of the Sigils. "They could also order the Servant to perform any sexual act, no matter how deviant, any crime, no matter how atrocious; they could even order the Servant to end their own life." I laid that out on them bluntly and Louise's eyes widened and Siesta spit out her tea in shock. "Those three Sigils are the single greatest tool for the Master to use to ensure their Servant's obedience. The Servant knows that if they step too far out of line then they can be forced into it. But in response, the Master knows if they trample on their Servant's pride too much, then the Servant will be free, and they'll remember just what it was their Master made them do."**

**I gave a tiny somber smile at that. "That's when things can get ugly for the Master."**

**Taking another sip as the two digested that I continued. "But when I say absolute, I mean that if the order is within reason, than even the fabric of space and time can be altered."**

**"Fabric of space and time?" Louise asked, her curiosity as a mage shining through.**

**"For instance, if the Master is away from their servant and finds themselves needing them, they can give the order 'come forth'. The moment they do, regardless of the distance between the Master and the Servant, the Servant will come. Space itself will fold so that the Servant can be at their Master's side." Both of the girls dropped their tea at that. "The order could be something as simple as 'dodge that blow' or 'attack with all your power'. The results in combat than would surpass anything the Servant would have been capable of on their own."**

**I leaned back. My tea had grown cold, and it was starting to get late in the afternoon. We were now indisputably the only ones at this little tea party. Other servants had begun to clean up the rest of the tables and chairs, leaving the three of us alone on a green field.**

**"What about the shared purpose?" Louise asked. She looked like she was starting to get worn down from all the shocks and revelations.**

**"Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The Servant is more willing to obey if the Master is trying to accomplish something that the Servant wants to accomplish." I decide to keep the rest of my answers short. I could always go back later and provide more details if I needed to. For now, it might be best to let Louise get some rest.**

**"And the reagent?" she asked, not making a protest at the sudden turn towards the abrupt.**

**"An item used to specify who it is you will summon," I answer concisely. That seemed to confuse her.**

**"Who you summon?" I give her a small smile.**

**"Did you use anything in your ritual that would target a specific type of animal or species?" I ask her simply.**

**"No," she admitted, apparently never having thought of such a thing.**

**"Then that means when you summoned me, you got precisely the one who was most suitable for you," I smiled at her.**

When Saber spoke up she was not happy "I doubt it probably you were summoned because you were the only one who would not kill her at the start.

***Scene Break***

_**When Louise went to sleep that night, she was equal parts exhausted, exalted, and embarrassed. She had done it! Her summons wasn't a failure! She truly had found a familiar, no, she corrected herself, a SERVANT that was noble and powerful! Yes, her initial response and impression might have been less then favorable, which was the source of her embarrassment, but do to the very nature of the Servant, of Emiya Shirou, she was confident that the situation wasn't unsalvageable. It would take time, but eventually she would be able to prove to everyone, her peers, her teachers, and her family, that she wasn't a failure. That she wasn't Louise the Zero!**_

_**And when Louise slept, she dreamed of sword and battle once more.**_

_**There was her Servant, still younger looking. And there was the girl in blue. Saber, she remembered from last night's dream. Even if it was just a dream, the words of her Servant had seeped in, and her mind had constructed a vision based around the then strange terms. Louise felt like giggling. This was amazing! It was wonderful!**_

_**So it was when she saw her Servant, and her dreamed up Servant's Servant battling a hulking brute, Berserker her mind whispered to her, she felt no fear. She would dream up a wonderful battle, the boy/Servant, and the dream/Servant, who Louise had already decided represented her own future as a powerful mage, would emerge triumphant and glorious over the foul savage that stood before them.**_

_**Instead, in Louise's dream, she watched the girl in blue suffer wound after wound. And though she stood proud despite being bloodied, when the final blow of the giant, whom wielded a chipped club of rock, came rattling down, she had almost decided that what she was seeing was a nightmare.**_

_**And when the boy visage of her Servant threw the girl in blue away and took that awful strike, when she saw the spray of blood erupt from the one whom she had summoned, she knew for a fact that it really was a nightmare.**_

Shirou spoke up worried "I hope she does not see anything that scar's her." Saber replied with a sigh "Only you would worry about someone like her."

_**And so Louise dreamed of swords and battle.**_


	4. The Hill of Swords Chapter Three

**"You don't really have to come to class if you don't want to, Shirou," Louise assured me yet again. For some reason she looked very nervous to have me attending class with her.**

Rin replied with a wicked grin "She is probably worried that you will embarrass her."

**"You might have mentioned that, but I want to come anyway, Louise," I responded, also yet again.**

**The past few days, four of them since the aborted dual and subsequent explanations, had marked a decided change in the interaction between Louise and I. One of the most prominent had been the switch to first name basis between the two of us.**

Saber replied with a stiff "I am surprised it took so long"

**As what is appearing to be natural in our interactions this turned out to be more complicated than expected. On my part it had taken me nearly half a day to realize that I had been introducing myself with Japanese convention of placing the family name before the surname. On Louise's part it had taken an entire day for her to realize that the reason I was steadfastly only referring to her as 'Master' was that she hadn't yet given me permission to use her first name. I know it might seem a little gratuitous, but as a Japanese person I still had firm convictions about not overstepping propriety while addressing someone until specifically invited to by the person themselves.**

**I even occasionally added the suffix –san to names, something which caused a good bit of confusion to the aforementioned parties till I realized what I was doing and had to explain yet another convention of my home land.**

**Still, with the mounting tension between Louise and I based around the difference in our views of our respective roles out of the way, the whole experience of being summoned was feeling more and more like a vacation to me. There were no mid-night patrols searching for other Masters to defeat, no desperate uphill battles against foes of superior power or positioning, heck, there wasn't even any more mocking or jibing at my Master.**

When Saber spoke it was clear she was smiling "Yes this does sound like a vacation just dont lower your guard to much Shirou okay." Once more tacking to the laptop as if it could hear her.

**At least not when I was around. I got the distinct impression that a good number of students found me scary as hell.**

**It had taken a good bit of explaining before the school at large got over the impression that I wasn't some kind of killer golem disguised as a human that was going to slaughter everyone who stood in my way and bathe in their blood without mercy. The killer golem thing appeared to be some kind of popular scary story, the kind that people like to tell around campfires in order to frighten each other. It's not that weird considering that my own culture really liked to talk about killer robots from the future, so after I had gotten a kick out of the similarities, I had shrugged off the rumor and went about my life.**

When Shirou spoke he was obviously confused "Killer robots from the future?" Rin's reply was to the point "It's probably a movie that has not come out yet."

**I think the fact that I hadn't killed anyone in three days, went out of my way to help passing students with various things like carrying books and picking up dropped items, and STILL was frequently sighted doing Louise's laundry without hesitation was enough to get people to finally start calming down around me.**

**Besides the first name thing, Louise I had managed to settle down into a comfortable routine. I would wake her up in the morning and set her outfit for her, then wait for her down in the courtyard. **

When Saber spoke she was obviously jealous "I see it did not take you long to get used to dressing the girl." Refusing to acknowledge Louise Saber seemed to be using anger to hide her jealousy. Shirou was quick to answer "It is easy to be around Louise she's so small I can easily think of her as a child you on the other hand are far to... pretty I did want to control myself around you and you sleeping in the same bed would not have helped." Rin just laughed amused

**We would go to breakfast where we would separate, her heading in to the tables with the other students, me heading to the kitchen and eating with the staff. And occasionally getting molested by the dragon and the salamander, who were named Sylphid and Flame respectively. From there I would walk Louise to class where we would again separate. While she was occupied with her studies I would generally either find some place to exercise and work on my own skills, either magic or martial, take care of any chores or cleaning that the room I shared with Louise required, or even just help the castle's staff with various chores. I was becoming quite well liked by the caretakers for my willingness to pitch in wherever they were shorthanded.**

**I think a good number of them got a kick out of the fact that I could use magic even though I wasn't a noble. I feel it gave them a certain sense of vindication in displaying that all the tripe about magic denoting nobility was wiped right out the door and that even a servant could use magic if the situation was right.**

**I even caught the head chef, the big guy who never much cared for nobles in the first place and was now my second biggest fan after Siesta, reading what appeared to be purloined first year books and attempting to cast spells of his own.**

**Now, however, that the unease over my presence had died down enough that people weren't actively pressing themselves against the wall in fear and inching away from me when I passed, which yes, some of them actually did, I had stepped forward with my request to Louise: let me attend class with her.**

**"Why are you so insistent on coming to class?" Louise huffed next to me, her arms crossed and her face puffy with displeasure. "They won't let you participate. Even if you can use magic, in everyone's eyes you're still just a familiar and a commoner. It's not a matter of talent for them, it's a matter of status."**

**"I know," I admitted. "I probably wouldn't be able to do anything they teach anyway. From what I've seen our styles of magic are just too different to be compatible."**

**"Styles of magic?" Louise said, her head cocked to the side. I could almost see little question marks appearing above her as what I said threw her for a complete loop. Before she could ask me what I meant a big woman wearing an honest to Root stylized pointed witches hat came in and class promptly started.**

When Rin spoke up she was angry "I cannot believe these people they are encouraging a stupid stereotype like that"

**As the class continued I listened, enraptured. The styles of magic they used here really were completely different from the ones of my home world. It was a fascinating insight into the workings of the magic of this world.**

**I leaned over to whisper to Louise softly, seeking confirmation on the actual mechanics of what was being explained. "So the magi of this land use their wands to channel the prana of the elements around them in order to form spells?"**

Rin looked excited that she would learn about this and spoke "Oh the discoveries that are going to be made."

**"Yes," she whispered back. We kept our conversation quiet so as not to interrupt the class itself, and even as she answered she continued taking diligent notes.**

**"And the ability to combine these elements causes them to alter their nature, and the more elements that can be combined, the more powerful the magi?"**

**"Yes," she whispered back, obviously paying more attention to the lecture then me.**

**I intended to stop there, but I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.**

**"Louise," I nudged her.**

**"What?" she hissed back, starting to get annoyed by my constant interruptions.**

**"What the hell is Kirche doing?"**

**She glanced over in the direction I was staring, and instantly understood the unease that had started to seep into my voice. Kirche had her head propped up on one hand, and was using the other to toy with the already plunging neckline of her blouse. She was also staring at me with a flushed face.**

**"I don't know," Louise finally said. "And I don't want to."**

**I nodded. Kirche had noticed that I was looking at her, and her tongue darted out to run along her lips sensuously. "Neither do I," I decided, and we both in unison turned back to the lecture, determined to ignore the disturbing woman a few isles over from us.**

Rin spoke up having a wicked grin "looks like you are still scared of intimacy huh Shirou" Shirou ignored her teasing.

**I also immediately began making strategies for the best way to take down the different types of magi I might come across. The more I plan now the better I'll be able to perform when the time comes.**

**Something particularly interesting happened half way through the lecture.**

**Louise was called upon to demonstrate transfiguration of elements.**

**I began to suspect that something was up when every student there gasped in unison and began to shrink under the table. Kirche was shaken from whatever trance she had sank into and stood up, slamming her hands against the desk. "Just a second, Professor. You can't possibly mean to have Louise the Zero demonstrate, can you?"**

**There's that title again. I wonder what it meant. Guiche had had one too. I was beginning to get the impression that titles were pretty common in these parts. Guiche's had indicated that he was a metal crafter. I wonder what a title like 'zero' could mean?**

**"Yes, I most certainly mean to," the professor said, sounding a little aggrieved that her choice in students seemed to be garnishing such a reaction.**

**"But Louise…" Kirche started and was cut off by the pink haired girl herself.**

**"I'll do it," she declared, standing up suddenly, looking determined and a little resigned.**

**I noticed Tabitha stand up at this pronouncement and wordlessly leave the room. Kirche's eyes darted towards me, and then she apparently decided to follow the blue haired girl, who was still reading. The other students began to sink lower into their chairs.**

**What was up with all this hype? From what I saw such a little demonstration shouldn't warrant…**

***Scene Break***

**"Well," I said, and the coughed up smoke. "That was quite an explosion," I managed to get out.**

**Louise, who was walking next to me as we left the smoking classroom behind to return to her room to change, said nothing, though she obviously bit her tongue in order to keep from doing so.**

**I tried again to get a conversation going, feel awkward with the strained silence. "Well, I think I figured out where the title 'Zero' comes from. You're unable to manipulate any of the four common elements." I winced slightly. That might have come out a little harshly.**

**Strangely enough, despite her flaw being pointed out so bluntly, Louise did not lose her temper. "That's correct. I've never once managed to cast a spell properly. A while back, Kirche laughed and said that since my success rate is zero, I should be called 'Louise the Zero'."**

**Ouch. That was harsh.**

**"No wonder you got so upset when I said I could serve as a Caster," I murmured, regarding my Master sideways as we walked. "Even your summons has more skill in magic then you." Okay, looking back on that statement, it might have been simpler if I had just taken my shoe off and jammed it into my mouth rather than speak.  
><strong>When Rin spoke up she was still smiling "Well Shirou looks like you still say something before you think it through."

**"Yes," Louise said, and despite her obvious immense effort to stay stoic, her voice was laced with bitterness. "Even my familiar has more magic than I."**

**Despite myself, I shook my head. "No. There you are mistaken. The display back there just proved what I suspected: my Master is indeed the most powerful magi on campus."**

**She snorted angrily, and whirled on me, one hand on her hip the other thrust into my face. "Don't patronize me, familiar!" she snapped, in her anger slipping back into her previous form of address for me. I let it slide this time; she was obviously distressed. "I don't need the likes of you lying to try and cheer me up! I.."**

**I grabbed the finger in my face gently and lowered. "I am neither lying, nor patronizing Master," I tell her gently. She blinked at my expression. I was smiling at her. I put one hand on her shoulder and urged her to continue walking.**

**"What do you mean?" she said finally, sounding slightly desperate for my assurance, but unwilling to believe that I could be telling the truth. I don't blame her, after so many years of failure, her self confidence must be pretty low.**

**"I've spoken to you before on the dangers of summoning a human, haven't I?" I begin. She nods wordlessly. We had arrived at her room, and I held the door open for her so she could enter. She did so, and immediately began to strip. I followed her in and shut the door, not paying any attention to her nudity. "Well beyond the dangers of a successful summoning, there are the dangers of even an attempted summons."**

**"Dangers?" Louise asked not seeing where I was coming from. "It's a summons. So long as the ritual is prepared properly, there are no dangers. Even if the most fearsome beast is called it will be obedient." She had turned to the table as she spoke, where a pitcher of water was laid out throughout the day. Pouring some onto a cloth, she used the damped fabric to begin wiping the soot from her.**

**"I'm referring of course to the sheer power required to summon a human." That caused her to turn and cast a curious look at me. "All humans have within them an innate magic resistance, the ability to resist spells and compulsions. The stronger the person is with magic, the greater the natural magic resistance," I explained.**

**"I've never heard of this magic resistance before," she said, sounding skeptical. "I know for a fact that even high powered wizards and witches can be taken out by normal magic if they're struck by them."**

**"Well, it's not the magic itself that's attacking them in those cases," I explained. "That's the element being manipulated by the magic. When I say magic resistance I mean things like pure magic. Generally spells that affect a person's free will like geas or compulsions. It can also translate over to transfiguration spells."**

**"Transfiguration spells?" she asked, having finished cleaning herself. "I've never heard of human transfiguration."**

**"It exists," I tell her, laying out the clothes and a towel I had prepared for her. "I ran across another Servant once who could paralyze or turn people into stone with her eyes." I grimaced briefly as I recalled the previous Rider I had come across. That girl had been hot, no doubt, but she had also been more than a little scary as hell. **

This time it was Saber who spoke up "You think Rider is hot Master" In Saber's anger speaking to him to as she had during the grain war. Shirou spoke up "Yes she is hot but you and Rin are twice as hot." When Saber and Rin stopped glaring at him he sighed in relief.

**"But another thing the resistance is good against is forceful teleportation spells. Spells like a summon."**

**Louise made a humming noise as she dried herself off and started to dress. "So why does that make you so certain that I'm as powerful as you say?" she asked, sounding hopeful.**

**"Because my magic resistance is particularly high, due to the way I use my magic for the most part," I answer her. "Besides that, you also summoned me from a spectacular distance away." Really, really spectacular distance. "I think that the only other person on the campus who might have been able to manage something like that is Tabitha."**

**"Tabitha?" she asked. She had taken a seat, and I poured her a cup of tea. One of the things I had requested be added to the room was a small stove and tea kettle. I know I could just go to the kitchen or ask a maid to get me some, but I like making my own tea. Pouring a cup for myself, I join her at the table. "Why her?"**

**"Because of what she summoned," I told her. "Dragons are powerful magic using creatures. But even though their magical strength is generally better than a humans, their resistance is proportionately less than a humans, so though the dragon might be magically stronger than me, it also would require less effort than the normal human."**

**"Powerful magical creatures?" Louise snorted at my description. "Dragons are just like horses with scales and wings. That breathe fire," she added. That didn't sound anything like a horse by my definition, but I didn't mention that.**

**"Really? There aren't many of them in my home land," having all be slaughtered centuries ago by various heroes. Heroes whose swords I am quite fond of I might add. **

When Saber spoke up she was angry "The dragons did not deserve to be hunted to extinction." Shirou hugged her to his chest and spoke reassuringly "Its okay Saber even if the dragons are gone we will always remember them."

**"Legends of them tell of how they were powerful beasts with abilities akin to that of the magi and great physical strength. The ones I hear about around these parts sound more like drakes to me."**

**"No," Louise said, completely assured of her answer, before taking another sip of tea and closing her eyes in pleasure. She had rapidly become addicted to my tea brewing skills I noted with pride. Nothing is quite as satisfying as seeing food you prepared enjoyed. "I'm quite certain of it."**

Rin smiled remnesintly "Yes Archer's tea was always the best even now I miss it."

**"All right then," I capitulate. It's really not worth arguing, but I had my doubts. Tabitha's Sylphid was very intelligent, and seemed capable of reason far beyond any of the other familiars I've seen, even Flame, who shared Sylphid's delight in forcing me to give them food and petting them quite regularly. "Anyway, that doesn't change the fact that YOU summoned ME, so I'm positive you have some heavy magical power in you. The explosion earlier just confirmed it."**

**"Why? All it was was just another failure," she said sullenly. It seemed that my explanation had apparently been enough to cheer her up a bit, but not enough to totally bring her out of her funk. Now that she had shown just how much this was eating away at her, she was reluctant to let herself give up the good sulk she had going for her.**

**"From the impression I got from the teacher, that spell should have been very simple. If it was just a matter of you not having enough power, I figure nothing would have happened at all. If it was a matter of you just screwing up, I think you'd have just gotten a small pop or the wrong element. Instead you blew it up with enough strength to knock over the first three rows of desks and caused all the windows in the room to shatter," I tell her with a wry smile. She flushed a little at that, but the logic behind it was apparently enough for her to feel better about it.**

**"So then, what can I do? Why do I keep screwing up like this?" She turned to me and seemed to swallow a large portion of her pride. "Can you help me?"**

**I sat back, rubbing my chin speculatively. "Well, I'm not an expert in your kind of magic, but I can think of two plausible reasons for your troubles off the top of my head."**

**"Really?" she perked up instantly, leaning forward with her hands clasped beneath her chin and her wide eyes begging me to continue. She looked like a kid who just found out Christmas had been changed to twice a year.**

**"Well, the first is that you're just using too much power."**

**"Huh?" she didn't get what I meant. I get the impression from that and her earlier questions that power conservation didn't figure highly into their style of magic.**

**"Here, let me show you." I drained my cup in one last gulp before placing it directly on the table in front of us. "This is a good chance to explain some of my abilities to you so that you can know how best to use me." She nodded eager for a lesson. I could see her already imagining walking into class tomorrow and suddenly displaying godlike skill in front of her peers, causing them all to bow before her, begging for forgiveness while she just laughed cruelly above them. Literally, I could see it. It was like a very scary vision of what might have been, only with me beneath her instead of her schoolmates. I shook it off like a bucket of cold water and focused on the demonstration instead. I assumed the 'Tohsaka Rin Lecturing Position Number 5' again.**

Rin glared at the laptop and then said "You two be quiet im curious to see what Shirou will say."

**"First off, a brief explanation on the difference in our styles. You see, the magi of my homeland have divided prana into…"**

**"Wait," she interrupted almost instantly. "Prana?"**

**I palmed my face. By the Root, do they not even have that much technical expertise over their own abilities? It's a wonder any of them survived long enough to pass on what little they managed to scrap together. "Prana is the energy of magic, which is used in the construction and casting of spells." I could literally see those question marks over her head again. "Think of prana as like raw ingredients, and the spell is the meal you get after you cut them up, combine them, and cook them," I tell her, drastically simplifying the subject for the sake of expedience. Even I, as amateur as I was back then knew that much. The metaphor seemed to work well enough, because Louise just nodded her head in response. "Now there are two kinds of prana: external, which is called mana, and internal, which is called od."**

**I paused and waited for her to give some kind of acknowledgment, which she did with a small nod of her head. I continued.**

**"Now I'm not really that much for the theory of it, but from what I can tell the big difference between our two styles is that you use mana, and that I'm using od." She raised a curious eye brow as I continued. "You use your wand to gather together the natural free floating prana of the planet, mana, and then shape it using your will. That's why all your magic is divided into the five elements she mentioned. What I do is shape the prana within me, the od, and shape it while it's still in me before releasing it externally. That's a big reason why neither one of us can use the others' style of magic. It would just take too long to relearn all the basics required to get to the point where we could catch up with the rest."**

**"Oh," she said. I could tell she was disappointed. She was no doubt hoping for personalized instruction from her captive instructor.**

**"Now, in order to explain what I meant by using too much power, let me show you one of my skills." I reached out and put a finger on the cup in front of me. She leaned forward eager to see me turn it into gold, or make it explode into black fire, or something equally impressive.**

**Trace on. Composition analyzed. Reinforcing….**

**"There." I took my finger away.**

**"But," she started, looking at the cup suspiciously, "nothing happened!"**

**I picked up the cup and threw it at the wall as hard as I could without augmentation. She 'eeped' at the sudden movement, and watched surprised as instead of the delicate porcelain shattering, it bounced off the wall and rolled back towards my feet without so much as a crack on it. I picked it up and put it back on the table in front of her wide eyes.**

**"This is called 'reinforcing'. It involves me putting my magic into an object and, well," I trailed off with a wave of my hand, "reinforcing it."**

**"That's it?" she said, reaching out to prod the cup with one finger, as though expecting it to be red hot or try to bite her finger.**

**"Pretty much," I acknowledged. It wasn't a very impressive technique after all. It was one of the first things that any apprentice in my home world learned. "I use it in combat to strengthen my body and senses, making me faster and tougher than I normally am."**

**"Ah. Like how you stopped the golem with one hand?" she guessed, regarding me shrewdly.**

**"Precisely. Now, how this ties into your problem," I reached out my hand put a finger on the cup. "You can't just pump od into something. You can only reinforce an object so much. If you put too much in…" I flooded the cup and it instantly shattered, "then that happens."**

**"So you think I might be putting too much mana in my spells, and that's what's causing the explosions?"**

**"Wait, explosions? As in plural?" I asked suddenly. She nodded her head. "So pretty much every spell ends like that?" I remembered her attempt at a silence spell. She nodded again. "Alright, then there might be three causes for your problem then," I tell her.**

**"Well, what's the second?" she sat back eager for more. Everything I was telling her was new, I could tell, and the concept of actually discovering a way to correct herself had made her an obedient student.**

**"The second is that you're using the wrong element," I said simply. "You mentioned earlier that not everyone can use all the elements. You could just be trying to use the wrong one."**

**"But I've tried spells from all four of the elements and nothing works!" she protested, offended that I thought it could be something so simple.**

**"Weren't there supposed to be five elements?" I ask her bluntly. Her eyes widened in shock.**

**"The void?" she whispered, apparently dumb struck that I would even suggest the legendary hypothetical fifth element to her.**

**"Maybe, maybe not," I tell her. "In my homeland we consider the five elements to be fire, water, metal, air, and wood. I also know that a few other countries that consider the fifth to be ether, and another that consider it to be plasma."**

**"Huh?" she said, totally unprepared for that.**

**"I'm saying that just because traditionally," I stressed the word to her, "that those are considered in this particular country doesn't mean that tradition is right. There could be any number of elements out there that people are unaware of. And just because the four are the only ones taught, the people who are naturally aligned with an unknown element but are never taught how to use it because no one knows how to teach spells for it."**

**"So what do I do if that's the case?" She asked skeptically. I don't blame her. It must seem pretty pretentious to her to blatantly tell her to her face that all the beliefs on magic and the traditions that came from those beliefs could be wrong.**

**Tough cookies. I know they're wrong in some regards, and just underdeveloped in others, so I feel perfectly justified in making my case.**

**"No idea," I tell her bluntly. She slumped at that. "I'm not an expert on your kind of magic. I'd recommend looking through the history books, trying to find references to strange practices. Maybe start with human summons."**

**"Why human summons?" she asked, not particularly interested but asking anyway.**

**"Well, Guiche summoned that mole, and he was an earth style mage right? Kirche has the salamander and I'm pretty sure she's a fire style," she tilted her head to the side, and nodded as I explained my reasoning. "I'm not sure because I haven't seen her cast before, but since Tabitha summoned a dragon, is she by chance a wind style user?" She nodded again, this time in affirmation. "Well, there you go. It's a long shot, but it has a chance."**

**Louise sighed again. She had come into this little impromptu lesson hoping that I'd have the instant cure all to her worries, but instead I'm just giving her more work. She seemed discouraged by it, but I had no doubt she really was that determined to improve, and would most likely be spending either a lot of time in the library, or a lot of time trying not to blow things up. "What's the third option? The one you just came up with?" she asked instead, resigning herself to another vague answer.**

**"You might have an unusual affinity," I tell her. I continued, already knowing that she was going to have questions. "Sometimes mages are just particularly attuned to a particular usage of magic. Like Gauche. He seemed to be very skilled at construction: that golem was nearly instantaneous and was very well put together, and the sword he made at the last second was really top notch. I had no idea he'd be able to make something like that so quickly, even if he didn't know how to use it," I snorted at that.**

**"So what do you mean by unusual then?" she asked tracing a finger around the edge of her empty cup and staring at the bottom of it.**

**"Hmm," I smiled slightly. "I have the perfect example."**

**"Oh? What?" she glanced up. I bowed in my chair.**

**"Me." Her eyebrow shot up. "Since you confided in me about your own difficulties, allow me to share my own: by the standards of my homeland, I am a complete failure as a mage."**

**"What?" she gawked. "But you were so fast, and so skilled!"**

**"With the sword, not with magic," I told her. "Remember how I said all my skills were based around my swordsmanship? It's because I'm just not able to do anything else. When I was learning, I was never able to get beyond the two most basic skills any magi should have: reinforcement and projection."**

**"Projection?" she said leaning forward. My failures as a magi seemed to fascinate her.**

**"Forcing the od in my body out into a solid shape. It's a useless technique used just to get the apprentice to get used to manipulating their own od." I grimaced in pain at the memory. "I spent years trying to learn the two. It didn't help that my father, the one who was instructing me, died while I was still learning." She gasped.**

**"Your father died? So it was just you and your mother and your siblings?" she seemed saddened by that.**

**"Actually, both my parents died in a fire when I was very young," she gawked at my casual admittance to orphan hood. "I was adopted, and my adopted father was the one who instructed me for several years before he also died. I never had any siblings." My twice over orphan status made her look sad. I didn't let it get to me. Both instances happened a very long time ago.**

Saber spoke up "Shirou I am" Shirou interrupted her grabbing her into another hug and whispering in her ear "It's okay Saber I forgive you I always will." Saber blushed and buried her face in my chest. Rin stared and then said "Stay quiet you two I am getting some entertainment here." With that they fell silent and paid attention to the laptop

**"Anyway," I continued my interrupted explanation. "I kept trying and trying to master the two techniques, and eventually I found someone who was willing to take up my instruction." That would be Rin, and the little genius of a magi had never let me live down the fact that she was my master even though we were both the same age.**

Rin said with a smile "I am just that much better than you huh Emiya-kun" Shirou glared but said nothing.

**"And then you were able to learn the techniques?" she asked, trying to guess the conclusion of my story. I grinned again.**

**"Actually, I never mastered projection. It turns out that I had been practicing it wrong the entire time." She gawked at me. I continued. "In fact, I had been practicing it so wrong that I had accidentally created a whole new technique." That would be tracing.**

**"You accidentally made a whole new technique?" she gaped at me, and then began to laugh helplessly. I grinned and chuckled with her.**

**"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up Master," I groused playfully. She finally managed to get herself together.**

**"So what does this have to do with a, what did you call it? Unusual affinity?" It looked as though the laugh had done her some good. Louise was grinning at me playfully; her earlier gloom nearly completely vanished.**

**"The technique I invented I named 'tracing'. It's the ability to completely replicate something. Not just the shape, like projection. I replicate the materials, the forging process of the materials, even the history of an object. It's still only temporary, but it's a superior form of recreation. And it's perfect for my affinity." I held up both my hands in front of me, and traced Kanshou once more into it. "Swords."**

**"Wait, your affinity is swords?" she asked, sounding confused.**

**"Yes. Even before I developed this technique, I dreamed of swords. I can effortlessly recreate any sword I see, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the style." I detraced Kanshou, and replaced it with a claymore. Her eyes widened as she realized that I wasn't just summoning a blade like the common rumor around school was, but actually recreating them. The claymore was replaced by a falchion, then by a damascus steel dervish blade, then by broadsword, then by a katana. Each blade was a work of art, perfectly mastered down to the smallest detail. I gazed at them fondly. "I can trace other things as well. Pretty much any simple object, like a chair or a table. But tracing a weapon of any kind is always easier then something which isn't. And tracing a sword is almost effortless for me. I'm just attuned with them."**

**"But that doesn't make any sense. How can you have an affinity for something like swords?" she argued.**

**"Why is it that a musician can be better at a violin then at the piano? Or an artist better at painting then sculpting?" I shrugged. "Sometimes people are just naturally better at specific things."**

**"Well then, what might my affinity be?" she asked expectantly.**

**"Explosions," I tell her seriously, and she scowled at me. "I mean it. Maybe you're just hardwired for spells that are meant for destruction. It could just be that you're not meant for peaceful magic, that where you can't manage something that can build, you'll excel at something that will break."**

**"You really think so?" she asked, sounding a little reluctant at the idea.**

**I shrugged again. "Well, you summoned me. I was a failure as a magi until I discovered my own calling. Maybe that's one of the aspects that made me compatible with your summons." She didn't really have an answer to that.**

Rin spoke up "That's a good point and you can speak again"

***Scene Break***

**"Welcome, customers," the shop keeper called out in a voice that was either enthusiastically welcoming, or greasily ingratiating. I decided to withhold judgment until I had a chance to speak to him.**

**"Oh," the man, a little short and with a bulbous nose that spoke volumes of just much he enjoyed good drink. "Noble folk. We're an honest business here, we've had no trouble with the authorities…" the man hastened to defend his business. I've little doubt that one or two of the royal tax collectors had gotten a little free with their responsibilities in the past.**

**"I'm here as a customer," Louise declared, cutting through whatever it was the man was going say. "I require a sword for my Servant," she said indicating me as I stood behind her. I gave the man a sardonic wave, before turning my eyes instantly to the walls.**

**It had seemed a little strange to me, but Louise had insisted that she buy one for me. This was a result of our little talk earlier. After I had told her my opinions on her problems, she had turned her attention to the specifics of my magic, a topic I felt appropriate. It had focused on the differences in our magic first, but she had quickly made a discovery that made her nervous.**

**That discovery being that if I was in prolonged battle there was a good chance I would run out of od, fail to have anything to defend myself with, and die.**

**She had at first assumed that since I was apparently so skilled with the sword that I would be similarly gifted at magic. I had had to disillusion her about that rather quickly. By the standard of my home world's magi, I had at best slightly above average reserves, and that was after several years of careful development. That meant I could trace maybe sixty of my weapons a day. That was if I was solely using my od for my tracing ability. The reinforcement needed to ensure I lived through magical strikes would also put a pretty good sized drain on my magic, and add to that that I prefer keeping a set amount untouched at all times for emergency purposes, and I estimated that in combat I would be able to trace maybe around ten weapons max. That would be more than adequate against the average noble in this world I presumed, but against one of the higher class ones, or a significant group of skilled casters and soldiers?**

Shirou sighed and said "That's sill a lot better than me I cant wait to have his reserves."

**She quickly decided that it would be in my best interest to have a fall back sword, or more likely a primary weapon to wield. I actually approved of this. Having a single blade like that on me at all times would be a large relief on my potential combat reserves. It's much more efficient to simply reinforce a normal sword then to trace a new one each time I needed it. The only reason I hadn't gotten one already was because back in my home world people notice when you walk down a street with a sword on you and call the police. I wouldn't get that kind of attention here apparently.**

Shirou sighed that was true he would never carry a sword as it would cause people to call the police.

**This would allow me to save my traced weaponry for special occasions. I still hadn't revealed to my Master just what kind of weapons I had. I was thinking of keeping that in reserve for a special occasion where I could really make her gawk.**

**That had led to us abandoning school for the rest of the day and taking a three hour horse ride to the capital city of this country, a city called Tristain. I still hadn't learned the geography of this country very well, but it hadn't seemed important enough yet to pay attention to.**

**I was also taking the opportunity to study the general weaponry available here. It would be good reference for choosing which weapon would be more advantageous to call if I need it.**

**"Very well, mistress," he said, shooting me a careful eye. I probably didn't look like much of a soldier or guard, standing hands in my pocket and relaxed while wearing vaguely foreign looking clothes. I glanced back at him to meet his eyes. "And what type of weapon are you looking for exactly?"**

**Louise drew herself up to give a peremptory order, and then suddenly realized she had no idea what kind of sword I was looking for. She gave me a glance, inviting me wordlessly to step forward. It was a good sign that she was getting more comfortable around me.**

**With a pleasant grin at the salesman I comply with my Master's unspoken order. "I'm familiar with a variety of different sword types. Why don't you start by bringing me a larger blade, and I'll work my way down from there?"**

**The salesman gave a bow and turned to dip into the back, and now I was certain that the look was greasy. Looks like I was going to have to make a demonstration before I got this man to bring me the good stuff.**

**Sure enough, he came back with what was surely the most expensive blade in the shop. Louise's eyes lit up, and I could tell why. The sword was absolutely beautiful. He passed it to me with a professional smile, and I took it from him confidently.**

**"It's the best in the shop," he began his pitch. "Hand crafted by Germanian master alchemists. The sword will cut through iron like butter," he declared, as I carefully inspected the blade.**

**"How much?" Louise asked more for the sake of continuing the conversation as she carefully watched my reaction to the blade.**

**"Three thousand new gold," he declared confidently.**

**"You could buy a mansion and estate for that much!" Louise declared, shocked. I had as little experience buying a sword as she did, usually just recreating them later from memory, but even though I had no idea just how much a new gold was worth I could tell that he was asking for just way too much.**

**"A fine blade is worth as much as a castle," the shopkeeper declared, sagely stroking his chin. I could almost read his mind. 'Easy Pickings' was written all over his forehead.**

**Louise turned to me, grimacing over the price. "Well?" she asked.**

**"It's an exquisite blade, but it's useless," I tell her. The shop keeper looked affronted at my declaration, and I could see Louise getting ready to lambast the man for trying to rip her off when I continued. "See here, the sheen? The alchemist covered the blade and cross guard with a fine layer of gold, and the handle with white gold as well. Gold is too soft to properly hold an edge, and an unwrapped pommel will slip free from sweat. He also etched in fine silver scrollwork, and the jewels set in the guard and base both appear to be fine quality rubies set with a platinum latch. The blade itself lacks a proper fuller, which increases the weight, causing the wielder to tire quicker than one would want in battle, and the quillion is set loosely afterward so that the etch work could be inscribed in more detail." I swung the sword quickly in a series of loose armed moves. "It's also inordinately heavy at the tip, which allows for greater strike force at the cost of endurance, and while the grip is larger in order to balance the weight of the blade it also makes gripping awkward."**

**With a quick move I reversed the blade and offered it back to the salesman. "Like I said, it's exquisitely crafted, but it best serves as a decorative piece." I smile at him, making sure the expression was genial and honest. "Perhaps we could try again with a more functional piece?"**

This time Shirou gasped "Oh my god I just used one of Rin's grins I have to learn how to do that." Shirou fell silent at he look Rin was giving him. Saber just shook her head amused.

**The shopkeeper looked astonished by my accurate appraisal of blade in front of him while Louise looked impressed. She took a cue from me and spoke up as well. "As you can see, my Servant has a fine eye for steel. If you can satisfy his standards, then there will be a good bonus for yourself as well." The man took the blade back shocked. He had obviously expected the girl in front of him to just be looking for a pretty little accessory for what was most likely a secret beau, only to find out that that beau turned out to be more than a pretty face. I don't hold it against him. If all I was looking for was a show piece, the blade he brought out was absolutely perfect for the occasion. From the corner of the room, I heard what sounded like the clanking of shifting steel, but when I glanced over I saw nothing but a few of his cheaper wares.**

**Changing his tone entirely, he asked me politely, "And what specifics should I look for?"**

**"I'd prefer a long sword length, modest cross guard, the presence of a quillion is unimportant, and single edged. No pommel accessories needed, though an appropriate size to act as a grip guard." My list is quickly delivered and he nodded his affirmative, his mind darting through his inventory for an appropriate blade.**

**From the same corner as earlier, a voice broke out into baying laughter. "Looks like the boy knows what he wants, eh salesman?"**

**A quick glance confirmed what I suspected. I casually rubbed my eyes, and looked again. The voice rang out again, "Got something in your eyes kiddo?"**

Shirou gasped "Oh my god I want that sword so much lucky future self" Rin sighed but said nothing. Saber narrowed her eyes at the laptop/

**"Louise," I asked calmly. "Did that sword just speak?"**

**She eyed the talking blade too. "Yes, it certainly seems so, Shirou."**

**"Ahh," I said in response and walked over to it. I reached out to grasp the handle, and then paused. "Do you mind?" I asked it as politely as I could when speaking to a talking sword.**

**"Go ahead kid. Your girl was spot on when she said you had an eye for steel," it encouraged me. I grasped the handle firmly with one hand and the scabbard with the other and drew the steel from the barrel it rested in. With a quick motion to shake loose and rust that might have bonded the sword and scabbard together, I bared four inches of the blade and studied it. It had a modest cross guard and pommel, with a single edge. It had no bevel, but felt light enough in my hand not to warrant it. The grip itself was tied with good rough cloth, providing a firm grip. "Oh," it said, the quillion on the blade moving as though a mouth. "You got a good grip kiddo. Tell you what, throw some gold at that man over there and I'll let you be my partner!"**

**"Hmmm," I said, trying to hide just how much I wanted that sword at that very moment. I finished unsheathing it and sighted it along my arm. It was rusty, and the blade had a number of slight dings, but it was un-pitted, no sign of corrosion from the rust. Oh dear sweet Feel of Heaven, did I want this sword. "Well," I said casually to the salesman. "It fits the criteria, and I do like a sword with character…**

***Scene Break***

**"Shirou," Louise said, her eye twitching, and her fists clenched as she eyed me strangely. "I'm glad you like the sword, but could you please stop rubbing your cheek against it? It's disturbing."**

**"I can't help it!" I said, feeling almost giddy. The sword, who had introduced itself as Derflinger seemed to find my reaction amusing and spoke up again.**

**"Ha! You really do have a fine eye for steel, eh Partner?" it said. It sounded like it was gloating, and I didn't blame it. It had probably been looked over and dismissed many times, and to suddenly find someone who could actually appreciate it and give it the praise it deserved was probably making the long centuries it had been neglected worth it.**

**"Fine steel?" Louise said, putting her arms on her hips and looking aggrieve. We had made it back to the castle and my unashamed display of affection for the blade clutched in my hands was drawing some strange glances. "You look like a rusty piece of scrap iron!"**

**"Yes," I agree wholeheartedly, "but it's a MAGICAL rusty piece of scrap iron!"**

**She sighed exasperatedly and put her hands to her forehead. "If all you wanted was a magical blade than I could have spent a few extra hundred and gotten you one that had at least a preservation charm on it," she muttered.**

**"Oi, oi! Stupid woman! Do you have any idea who I am? I'm the legendary Derflinger! To say that you'd rather have one of those poorly made pieces of junk that they're trying to pass off as blades in these times? Do you want me to come over there and smack some sense into you, girl?" Derflinger seemed genuinely upset by Louise's comment, and I don't blame him.**

**"What did you say, you hunk of broken metal?" Louise thundered, a clenched shaking fist holding her wand coming up. Alright, time for me to play peacemaker.**

**"Now, now, Derflinger," I said, addressing the sword first. "She just doesn't understand your splendor."**

**"I haven't been wielded on a thousand battlefields to be insulted like some kind of…" the sword began angrily, but I cut it off gently.**

**"I know that, and you know that, but she's pretty new to the sword trade, so she doesn't know that," I tell it gently. That seems to relax it a bit. Turning to the very pissed spitfire next to me, I started soothing her. "Master," I start gently making soothing motions with my hand. "You don't understand what it means to find a RUSTY magical sword."**

**"It means that I put far too much trust into your common sense?" she ground out.**

**"If it was just a magical sword I wanted, I have hundreds in my arsenal," I tell her bluntly. That snaps her out of her flunk instantly.**

**"What!" the question was echoed both from my Master and my blade simultaneously.**

**"I'll explain it to you later," I addressed the sword and turned to my gaping Master. "I told you before: tracing lets me recreate every aspect of any blade I see. That includes their magical properties. I've been on enough battle fields that I've picked up more weapons than you could readily believe. Some of the weapons I have can literally split mountains," I tell her bluntly.**

**"T-t-t-that's impossible! ****No sword can hold that much power in it!" she blurted out, jaw open. It was late when we got back from our impromptu shopping trip, and luckily there were very few students around to wonder what the two of us were arguing about.**

**"It's true," I tell her. "But what you have to understand is that magical swords are almost always made to be used. And they get used, hard. The more powerful the sword, the quicker it ends up being broken, or stolen, or lost, or whatever. The average lifespan is what, a decade, two tops?" I consulted the sword in my arms for a second opinion.**

**"About that much," it confirms, sounding pleased with just how knowledgeable I was turning out to be on this subject.**

**"And just about the first aspect of any magical sword is that it is preserved from the elements," I continue turning back to Louise who seemed to be having trouble following where I was going with this. "It means that for however long those lost swords are around, they just don't rust." I was almost gushing at this point. "For a blade as obviously magical as Derflinger, one that has actually achieved full sentience and not just steel awareness, to have rusted it means that it has to be at least what, two, three thousand years old?" I turned to the sword for confirmation. This declaration of age seemed to make Louise aware of just how big a find this was.**

**The sword was silent for a moment, and when it spoke it had an impressed tone to it. "Not bad, Partner. Every time you open your mouth you make me more certain that you were the one meant to wield me." It paused and then continued somewhat smugly. "And it's been six thousand years since I've been forged," it declares.**

**Oh dear Root of the World and that blessed whore that felt heaven. I have to physically suppress a moan of almost sexual pleasure.**

Shirou was giving the laptop a jealous look while Rin looked impressed. Saber while impressed thought that it could not match Excalibur.

**"Six millennia," Louise whispered, too awed to even speak.**

**"It's probably older then the civilization that came before the civilization that came before the civilization we're in now," I whisper. "Do you have any idea how much it has seen, how much it has experienced? The knowledge and skills it has acquired?"**

**Louise gulped softly. "No wonder you had me tip the salesman."**

**Derflinger broke out into laughter at that. "You know what, you're all right too, girl!"**

**Whatever was Louise was about to say to that admission was interrupted as I suddenly found myself knocked to the ground. Derflinger was thrown from my hand as a great weight slammed into my back and sent me sprawling to the ground. Damn it! How could I have let myself get so distracted? I rolled desperately, hand out stretched to trace a weapon to strike at the one who had slammed into me when I suddenly found my face being liberally coated with saliva.**

**"Flame?" I managed to get out as the eager salamander croaked happily and continued to lick me enthusiastically.**

**"Huh?" both the sword and my Master said, stunned to immobility by what had just happened. Okay, seriously. This was getting just plain silly. What is it with me and reptiles all of a sudden?**

**Before I could properly contemplate that thought the great lizard happily crawled off of me, reached down and nabbed the collar of my shirt, and then dragged me off, croaking happily as Louise and Derflinger just stood there stunned.**

***Scene Break***

**"Now Flame," I began as the lizard dragged me through the hallways. "I like you, but I'm afraid that I don't LIKE like you. It's nothing personal, but it's just that, well, you're a lizard, and I'm pretty sure you're a male as well, and well, both of those factors don't really work that great for me…"**

This caused Rin to crack up as she rolled around laughing Saber disguised her laugh as a cough. Shirou started shocked that a lizard would like like him.

**The happily croaking lizard paid my desperate attempts to diffuse the situation no notice and finally dragged me through a door to a darkened room lit only by candles and strewn with rose petals. I had been half joking earlier when I was trying to turn the salamander down, but now I was actually beginning to be seriously worried about this.**

**"Welcome," a voice said above me as I eyed the great lizard perched next to me like a cat happily croaking. Glancing up, I found that I was in the presence of Kirche. More specifically, of Kirche wearing what appeared to be racy lace undergarments and nothing else.**

**"Oh, praise the Root," I gasped out, relieved. "You sent Flame out to get me for you?" I said, desperately seeking assurance that I wasn't being abducted by an amorous six foot lizard.**

**"Huh?" she said, seemingly confused by my reaction. "Yes, I sent him to bring you," she confirmed. I sighed in relief, and she continued what sounded to me like a rehearsed speech. "Welcome to my sweet room, Emiya Shirou," she purred, and then paused, brushing one full lip with a finger in thought. "Or was it Shirou Emiya?"**

**"Shirou Emiya," I confirmed, too relieved that it was at least a human female and not a male salamander that had apparent amorous plans for me.**

**Wait a sec. Amorous plans?**

**"My secondary name is 'The Ardent'," she purred at me, her hands tracing up and down her exposed flank, trailing the underside of her rather noticeable chest. "But after I saw your battle against Guiche, ardent wasn't sufficient." Her fingers trailed down her full thighs. "I've fallen in love with you, Shirou Emiya," she breathed, her voice husky and heavy with desire. The very room was full of the scent of it. I found myself gulping nervously in the face of this whole new and completely unexpected assault. She slowly lowered herself till she was kneeling in front of where I was sprawled. Every movement she made was sensual grace given motion, pure liquid sex.**

Rin spoke up "Shirou you better turn her down or else." Shirou nodded as Saber was also glaring at him.

**"Why I appreciate the frankness of your profession, and wholeheartedly admit that you are a fine woman," and at that she began to crawl towards me, her full bosoms heaving at the motion, her breath quickening, and I desperately hurried on, backing away as fast as I dared, "I feel obliged to mention that your familiar abducted me right in front of…"**

**The door behind me slammed open forcefully. Silhouetted from the hallway, Louise stood holding Derflinger in the crook of one arm, and looking like she would be very glad at this very moment to practice her newly identified talent for explosions. I wasn't quite certain which one would be her target, but honestly, I was completely fine with either one of us as long as it cooled the air in here fast.**

**"Zilperstone," my very angry Master ground out, apparently selecting the target she found most appropriate for her wrath.**

**"Ha ha ha! Partner, every time I see you I get more and more impressed!" Derflinger chimed in, apparently finding this situation to be the most fun its had in centuries. In all honesty, it probably was the most fun its had in centuries.**

**"Valliere?" Kirche asked, sounding surprised at Louise's presence, "what are you doing here?"**

**"Well, when your familiar drags my Servant away by force in my presence, I think my presence becomes quite natural, wouldn't you say, Zilperstone?" she said, her hand clenching and unclenching around her wand rhythmically.**

**Kirche turned to glare at salamander in the corner who'd been watching the whole scene with animal like amusement, all the while croaking in happiness of the presence of his master and his favorite eye scratcher. "Flame! I told you to wait till he was alone!" she scolded the lizard. The lizard just croaked happily and darted forward to nuzzle my back.**

**"Okay, seriously," I said, interrupting the mood. "What is it with me and reptiles lately? This is just getting bizarre!"**

**"Are you certain you didn't have some kind of connection with them before?" Louise asked me, her own ire temporarily side shelved at this strange development.**

**"You know," Kirche chimed in, her finger on her full lips again, "I've been wondering about that too."**

**Derflinger couldn't stop laughing. It would occasionally attempt to get a word in, but its own mirth kept it from doing so.**

**I shook my head rapidly, dismissing the growing concern I've been having with my scaly problem, and turning back to the task at hand. "Kirche, it's not that I'm not flattered by the offer, but I'm afraid I have to decline."**

**"Why?" she demanded of me, seemingly too distraught by my refusal to even notice Louise's presence any more. Instead, she crawled forward, till she was straddling me, pressing her chest into my face as she wrapped her arms around my shoulder and stared down at me longingly. "I love you, Shirou. My body aches for you. Please, why won't you love me back?"**

**'Because I'm growing increasingly certain that what you define as 'love' could more accurately be defined as 'interested in a passing fling before I toss you aside like a used tissue and find another boy toy'', was on the verge of my lips, but I suppressed it in the interest of diplomacy.**

Saber spoke up glaring at the laptop "You should not have help back Shirou she does not deserve your politeness."

"I agree with you Saber" Rin looked like she wanted to go in the laptop and kill Kiche.

**Instead, I decide that the best way to diffuse the situation would be the blunt truth. "Because I already have a lover," I tell her straight out.**

Rin and Saber spoke simelutainouly "Who is your lover Shirou tell me now." Shirou cowered and then said "I don't know." Both of them glared at me but said nothing.

**"What?" two voices call out in shocked unison, while another just kept laughing uproariously. Kirche turned to glare at Louise, and Louise just stared at me in wide eyed shock before her eyes narrowed.**

**"That maid," she ground out, sounding like she was about to seek out a new target for her ventures into 'explosions 101'.**

**"No," I correct her instantly. "Back in my homeland." Both of the girls' eyes widened at that, and Derflinger managed to suppress his mirth long enough so that he could be sure to catch every inch of the drama unfolding in front of him. This was probably the most fun he's head in centuries. "Don't forget, I was summoned here, quite unexpectedly I might add. It shouldn't be a surprise that I have someone waiting for me back home."**

Rin glared she wish that they would be told who his lover was.

**Louise's eyes widened at that, as she realized just what I meant. She had pulled me without warning from my home, dragged me across unfathomable distances and then bound me into a contract of servitude. It was such an unimportant thing when the ones being bound were animals and beasts that couldn't speak. It was different when something you could equate yourself with, not a something but a someone, was being forced into the same circumstances. Suddenly in her eyes, it wasn't me that was the one who had been forcefully misplaced, it was herself. My example earlier of being forced to obey some stranger or face punishment, the same example that had opened her eyes to my circumstances suddenly had new meaning to her.**

**I had effectively become more than just a familiar or a Servant in her eyes.**

**And as profound an effect as that declaration had on my Master, it washed off Kirche like luke-warm water. She just smiled, relieved. "I don't mind," she declared, and leaned forward to capture my lips.**

**I stopped her with my finger, and without hesitation in my voice I informed her, "But I do."**

**She pulled back and regarded me surprised. Earlier I had been to off kilter to react properly. I had been off guard to her seduction and had acted unsure as I tried desperately to get a handle on the circumstances. Now I had recollected myself, and I was as firm as the mountains.**

When Rin spoke up her tone oozed satisfaction "Good I was starting to get worried Emiya-kun"

"Like Shirou would ever be interested in such trash right Shirou" Saber looked like she would hurt him in their next kendo spar if he did not agree. Shirou nodded his head rapidly.

**She held my gaze for a moment longer, and then a smile graced her lips once more. "If you think that that dissuaded me, you're wrong. It only made me want you more."**

**"Just keep wanting then." I got up and turned my back on her and with my Master and my Blade left.**

***Scene Break***

_**It took Louise a good long while to go to sleep that night. That Kirche, she thought angrily in her mind as she lay there. That Kirche and that Servant! She wasn't quite sure who she was more angry at. She glanced to the side, exposing her face slightly from where it was buried in her pillow, partially concealed by her hair. Her Servant was lying there on that thin collection of blankets he called a futon. It looked uncomfortable to her, nowhere near as soft as her down mattress, but he seemed happy by it. **_

_**The fact that her Servant already had a lover had come like a bolt of lightning for Louise. I shouldn't have surprised her actually. He looked older then her. Less older then her when he was asleep, she noted. As though some of the worries had been erased from him in his slumber and years were shed from him the moment he was no longer conscious. **_

Saber sighed sad that he had that weight on his soldier that all hero's gained.

_**Stupid Shirou, she thought angrily in her head, not sure why he was being stupid but certain that he was none the less.**_

_**That night, Louise dreamed of swords and battle again. The first night it had been exciting. The second, it had been disconcerting. Each night after that had shown her some new battle field, some new violence.**_

_**That night, Louise dreamed of something besides swords and battle. She dreamed of swords and battle and sex. She blamed Kirche for that. Stupid Kirche.**_

Rin spoke up "I wonder if she is seeing your contract with me"

_**Her young Servant was there, as was the girl in blue, the Saber. There was another with them, a girl with dark long hair, a bright red shirt, and a short dark skirt. Going with her previous assumptions, she assumed that the new girl must represent dream Kirche.**_

_**She hoped dream Kirche fell on a rock. It would be exceedingly easy, seeing as they three of them were running desperately through a dark forest, with the howls of a foul monster behind them, echoing as it hunted them.**_

_**Saber didn't look good in this dream. She looked tired, withdrawn, and weak. Louise wondered what that meant in her crazy dream world, seeing as the girl in blue was obviously some kind of representation of herself.**_

Saber spoke up "While you are nowhere near as bad as I first suspected you are certainly not me."

_**She didn't expect the three of them to seek shelter in an abandoned church. She didn't know what the three of them were talking about once they had found shelter, but she doubt it was that important. It was just a dream after all. She hoped this was the part where the girl in blue got up and beat the crap out of the girl in red.**_

_**She certainly didn't expect for them to…**_

_**Dream Louise blushed. She decided then and there that this wasn't some kind of dream representation of her real life.**_

_**Because she certainly wasn't thinking about a kinky threesome in an abandoned church while being hunted by a monster.**_

Rin and Saber once more screamed simutainoly "WHAT." Shirou cowered as they rounded up looking like they would kill him.

Zelretch once more appeared "Calm down this is one of the differences here Saber's master is still Shirou because of that you don't have much mana left. One of the differences is the fact you are dealing with berserker as Gilgamesh has not killed him.

That was a tartaric ritual to give Saber enough magic to defeat berserker." The girls relaxed as Zelretch vanished once more even as Shirou whispered "Thanks"

_**But if this wasn't just a dream, then what was it?**_

* * *

><p><strong>Hey I am putting a very important poll on my profile it is about a possible prequel and I probably wont update until I get a couple of votes I might update anyway if not a lot of people vote I might update anyway well we'll see still this will effect the story a lot so can you guys try to think sereously on how you want this story to go.<strong>


	5. The Hill of Swords Chapter Four

**"No," I told Louise flat out, sipping my tea calmly. The early morning sunlight lit the room with a soft glow, and made the scene have a peaceful feel to it.**

**"Why not?" the pinkette demanded, as she began to slip on the clothes I had laid out for her. It seemed that Louise had the peculiar sleeping habit of being completely unable to rest while wearing panties, so she usually slept in nothing but her night shirt. In deference to my male status, she had begun putting on and taking off her underwear while wearing the night shirt so as not to flash me her naughty bits, but seeing as I was still considered non-human by the standards of her culture that was the only concession she made for her changing. Once her panties were on, there were no more nudity taboos with her.**

"Shirou why is it that you have not stopped her from doing this" Saber looked angry as she asked. As Shirou opened his mouth to tell them Rin gestured to the computer.

**It was actually a practice I encouraged. It was a proper response to not think of Servants as people, my own practice notwithstanding. I answered her question. "Because it's silly."**

"Oh so you want to be treated as a servant while you don't want me to me to be a Servant." Saber looked if anything angrier while Rin had a blank look on her face.

"Shirou don't we will find out in this book that way you can't lie to us." Rin looked satisfied as she figured it would come up in the story. Shirou gulped these were his thoughts he was so not going to be having any privacy.

**"But it's a long standing tradition!" she argued, tugging a shirt on and beginning to button it as she puffed her cheeks up and pouted over my insistent refusal. "Second years are required to participate in the Evaluation Fair."**

**"And participate we shall," I confirm. "But if you're expecting me to go out there and do some wild performance, then that's where I have to refuse." That was the key of the morning's argument. When she had started speaking enthusiastically this morning over our morning tea of various ways for me to impress a crowd, I had been a bit confused. When she had told me that she was planning on having me stand in front of a crowd and start summoning my most impressive swords and swinging them around like an idiot I had switched from confused to disgusted.**

"Shirou I am glad to see you understand holding back" While Saber still looked somewhat angry the majority of it had left her.

**"Why not?" she repeated again, fastening her skirt finally, and taking a seat again at the tea table. She began tugging a brush through her sleep ruffled hair, one of the few allowances to vanity she regularly made. "All it would take is you making some magic sword and going through a few sword forms and I'm certain that we could win!"**

**I sighed, and began my explanation, reminding myself that she was still young, and unused to what it meant to have a Servant. "First of all, it's because I don't know any sword forms," I informed her. She blinked at that, forgetting about her brush and staring at me.**

**"Don't know any sword forms? But you're a swordsman!" she declared, seemingly completely baffled by me not knowing any fancy ways to step around while swinging a sword at empty air like an idiot.**

**"It's just too impractical for me to study any forms," I tell her, and then start to explain. "Each different type of sword has a different way to swing. A long sword is made for crushing swinging blows, using its weight to force its way through armor. A gladius uses weight as well, but focuses it into thrusts. A falchion is meant to be a light cutting weapon that can change angles easily. A katana is meant for two handed precision thrusts or cuts." I list a few weapons and their basic uses. Many of the types of blades I listed were completely unfamiliar to Louise, but she listened raptly, already trusting my knowledge on weapons. "I have dozens of different types of blades. If I were to try and train exclusively in any particular type, then I would have to neglect the rest. Rather than gain a particular mastery in a particular type of blade, I rely on general experience with all of them, and then just make sure to choose the best blade to counter what my enemy is using," I explain. "Because of that when I train I rely on just training my body to easily perform any of the basic moves in succession after each other and the speed of my tracing."**

**"It's a good style," Derflinger said approvingly. "It's unconventional, but it plays to partners strengths perfectly."**

"I am proud you have come so far in your own sword style" Saber looked proud at the computer while Shirou felt a surge of jealousy hit him once more. Shirou took a calming breath and released it he to would have a sword style of his own someday and Saber would be just as proud no more proud than she is now.

**"Shirou," Louise said, eyeing the blade strangely. "Why is your sword on a chair like a person? And why does it have a cup of tea in front of it?" I had propped Derflinger up on a small chair so that it could join us at the table, and had made sure to ask it how it liked its tea before pouring it some: two sugars and a bit of lemon.**

**"Just being polite," I tell her. "Just because it can't drink doesn't mean I shouldn't offer."**

"Shirou" Rin groaned out loud seaming aspirated while Saber looked amused.

**"It's been a long, long, long, long, long," Derflinger started listing longs, though in the middle of its list Louise turned back to me and continued the interrupted argument.**

**"So why can't you just go up there and make some really amazing blades? Even that would be enough to impress everyone," she pouted, still trying to convince me to act like an idiot in front of a crowd.**

**"Long, long, long, long," Derflinger continued in the background.**

**"First of all," I list, "being a Servant enough is impressive. If they don't understand that flat out, then me calling a few shiny sticks of metal isn't going to be enough to change their minds." That seemed to make sense to Louise and she sighed. She herself hadn't realized what she'd done when she called me here, and she was the one that did the calling! What else would everyone think compared to that? "Second of all, a Servant shouldn't go around displaying their skills in the first place. Servants should hold everything back till it's necessary in battle. Hell, technically, you shouldn't even be calling me by my name. You should be simply addressing me by my class title."**

"That is so not fair Archer why does a little brat like her get to know your name right off the bat while I was not aloud." Rin looked pissed as she mused aloud. Shirou opened his mouth to say something than shut it as Saber took his hand and shock her head.

**"Long, long, long, loooooooong, long , long," Derflinger continued, seemed enraptured in just how long it'd been.**

**"What do you mean?" Louise asked. She had become used to me knowing the proper etiquette for our situation, and no longer sounded confused or surprised when I explained something like this. She seemed perfectly content to learn the idiosyncrasies and then adapt them to her actions. Louise was apparently a firm believer in protocol, and had no hesitations about displaying the appropriate ones.**

**"Long, long, not so long, a bit longer than normal, long, long," Derflinger started added modifiers to his list of long.**

**"Servants tend to be very skilled, and the very skilled end up being very famous," I explained. "If the specifics of the Servant are known, the enemies can plan strategies that will cancel out the Servants strength, and exploit the Servants weaknesses. Because of that sometimes when a Servant is summoned, they won't even tell their Masters their names, much less start showing off their skills at a school yard festival," I finished.**

**"But didn't you show your skills once already?" Louise asked, referring to the time I nearly decapitated Guiche.**

**"Long time since I've been offered tea," Derflinger concluded happily.**

**"Would you like another?" I offered the sword politely.**

"Shirou" Rin snapped obviously in a bad mood.

"Yes Rin" Shirou asked gulping

"Stop being so polite to a sword" Rin said channeling her anger at this Shirou who she could actually hit.

"No I will not stop being so polite to that sword to actually achieve full awareness it deserves to be respected." Shirou had always respected swords and to see such an amazing one raged on. Shirou glared back at Rin. Saber cleared her throat and pointed at the book. Rin blushed and then continued reading but not before shooting Shirou a venomous glare. Shirou flinched he probably should have not argued with her.

**"Yes please!" it declared cheerfully. I switched my empty cup with its, claiming its untouched tea as my own and then filled its new cup with the steaming black liquid and added the flavoring it declared as its favorite promptly.**

**Louise's eyebrow twitched at that, and she once more got distracted. "You can't even drink!" she snapped pointing at the blade.**

**"But I like the smell," Derflinger whined pitifully. I gave my Master a disapproving look at that, and she sighed and shook her head, put out upon by the idiocy that surrounded her.**

**Ignoring the brief interlude I continued our conversation from earlier. "I showed that I had two swords that may or may not have been summoned by magic, may or may not have been supplied by you, or may or may not have simply been cleverly hidden somewhere on my body," I corrected. "And even then, all they know is that I have two swords. They have no idea that I could have had others, that my swords might have special abilities, that I might have limits on the skill, or anything else." I sipped Derflinger's old tea. It had cooled slightly but was still palatable. "And that's the way I'm going to keep it till I absolutely have to."**

**Louise sighed bitterly at that. "But I really want to impress everyone," she mumbled. Ah. I think this was more of her inferiority complex shining through. After so many years of being dubbed a failure she was eager to in some way prove her own superiority to the ones who mocked her.**

**"Don't worry about impressing them," I comfort her. "I've no doubt you will do that soon enough. For now, just focus on improving your skills till you can impress them yourself." I reached across the table and placed a confident hand on hers. She gave me a wan smile at that, as though she appreciated the thought but doubted its veracity. I didn't make any other comment. It would take something impressive to shake her out of her funk, but I've no doubt it would come eventually.**

**Probably on a battle field, but there was no reason to worry her with that now.**

***Scene Break***

**"So what are you planning to do for the fair, Shirou?" Siesta asked me as she walked beside me.**

**"Saying my name and bowing," I told her bluntly. It was warm out, and since it was a particularly pleasant looking day, I'd decided to get some air while I worked. Louise and I had parted earlier, her having tasks to run. She'd taken my earlier advice about hitting the books and looking for precedents on human summonings to heart and often spent a good deal of her free time in the musty library pouring over old scrolls. She'd tried to order me to help, but once I pointed out that I couldn't read any of the characters of her language, she'd decided to let me off the hook. Besides, I had a few things of my own to take care of. While searching for a pleasant place to do my errand, I had run across Siesta in the middle of her chores, and decided to walk with her for a bit.**

**"That's it?" she said, sounding disappointed. "That's not very impressive," she decided, and sent me a pouty look.**

**"Well," I said, not feeling like explaining my reasons for doing so to her as detailed as I did for Louise, "it'd be hard for me to look impressive compared to that," I nodded to the courtyard we were passing. It was filled with students and familiars all working on their acts.**

**"I'm sure you could beat most of them!" Siesta declared confidently, and I nodded.**

**"Most of them, yeah. I mean, I'm probably more impressive than the cats and the dogs." Though it appeared one student had managed to get their familiar, a dachshund, to apparently balance on a brightly colored ball and do back flips. I'm not sure I could match a feat like that if I tried. **

"Shirou do you want me to teach you how to do that to make you feel better" Rin said this while smiling one of her evil smiles.

"No thank you but how would you even know how to teach me." Shirou said while part of him wanted to tease her about knowing how to teach such a thing which he mercilessly destroyed whenever he had the urge to be sarcastic which was often, he was reminded of Archer normally he would not care but he did not want to remind Rin of Archer.

**"I could also probably outperform most of the birds." Again, there was one, a hummingbird, which was darting around in the air with a piece of string and spelling out words, though I hadn't the first clue just what they meant, that was really impressive. "But let's be honest: against some of the exotics I really just wouldn't have a chance." The bugbear, or whatever the heck that floating eyeball was, was transforming various wild animals, at least I hope they were wild animals and not some other careless students familiars, into creatively posed stone statues. I also saw Kirche standing beside her salamander and laughing maniacally as the lizard somehow managed to get the flame to warp midair after it left his mouth and make various patterns. I noticed Tabitha sitting in the corner, quietly reading a book and I nodded in her direction to Siesta. "I mean, Tabitha over there has a dragon. Compared to a dragon what judge is going to choose a human with a sword?"**

**"I guess," Siesta admitted, acknowledging the fact that I was pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to impressive looking familiars. "But I think that Shirou is the most impressive of them all!" she declared, whirling to stand in front of me and stomping her feet in emphasis of her declaration.**

**"Well," I said, not sure how to respond to being compared to a variety of magical animals and coming out favorably, "thanks for that, I guess." I noticed that Siesta had frozen, and was now staring over my shoulder with wide eyes. I sighed. "There's a big blue dragon directly behind me, isn't there."**

**I didn't even need to make it a question. I just knew. Siesta nodded wordlessly. I continued.**

**"It's making a really happy face at me, isn't it."**

Rin smiled one of her evil smile's figuring it out while Saber looked confused. Shirou also remembered as he was expressed by this he immediately paled as he knows Rin would tease him about this.

**Though I'm sure Siesta hadn't been around Sylphid enough to be able to judge her facial expressions, the maid nodded again.**

**"And now its rearing back and opening its mouth, isn't it."**

**Before Siesta could respond, I felt my collar get jerked upwards and backwards, lifting me bodily into the air again. Even as I dangled there, Sylphid wrapped both of her large forelimbs around me, and then completed the enthusiastic hug by including her wings. The dragon then released my collar so that it could start rubbing her head against my cheek, cheerfully trilling a happy tune.**

"Awwww" Saber said as she figured it out. Shirou smiled in his mind Saber looked very cute like that.

**"Why don't you go on ahead, Siesta," I suggest to the maid, who had cocked her head to the side in confusion of my sudden predicament. I'd heard that rumors of my scaly circumstances had pretty much spread throughout the entire castle by now, but this was the first time she'd ever actually seen it happen.**

**"Yes," she said, her voice befuddled. "I think I'll do that. Have a good day, Shirou," she concluded, smiling brightly up at me and then turning around to leave me to my fate. Smart girl. I turned my head so I could look at the dragon who was still trilling.**

**"Well, I'm not going to be able to give you the food with you pinning my arms with the hug," I tell Sylphid, whose eyes widened as she too realized that. She tilted her large head to the side and screwed her eyes up in concentration as she tried to decide what to do. On one hand, she apparently really wanted to hug me, and was loathe to put me down. On the other hand, she also apparently really wanted the food I'd started to carry around on me for just such occasions, and was loathed to let the food get away from her. After a few minutes, her eyes widened happily as she figured out a course of action.**

**Biting my collar once more, she stopped hugging me and with me still dangling from her mouth happily she tromped across the courtyard, cheerfully scattering the other students without a second thought. The other students, more used to the sight of Sylphid dragon-handling me then Siesta was didn't even give the scene a second glance, though a few of the ones I was more friendly with waved at me in passing. I waved back cordially, already inured to my fate.**

**Finally, Sylphid arrived at her destination and dropped me, before lying down next to me and staring up at me with doe eyes filled with longing.**

**"Hello, Tabitha," I addressed the blue haired girl that the dragon had placed me next to, while reaching into the small rucksack of supplies I had. This time, instead of bread, I had managed to convince the chef to give me a good sized chunk of chicken breast. Sylphid's eyes beamed up at me with such pure joy that it nearly made the heart stop to witness it. Without another seconds delay, her tongue darted out, wrapped around the morsel, and a second later she was happily munching away, bones and all.**

**Tabitha said nothing at the scene, or at my presence. This wasn't the first time we'd found ourselves suddenly in each others company. Sylphid had apparently decided that since she liked her master, and since she liked me, she liked having both of us around at the same time even more. Though honestly, even the first time this had happened, Tabitha hadn't said anything either. She just kept her head buried in her book.**

**Well, at least she was consistent.**

Rin opened her mouth but Shirou covered it glaring at him she bit his hand.

"Rin that hurt" Shirou said glaring at Rin

"Aww big baby want me to kiss it better" Rin said in a mocking tone.

Glaring at Rin he turned around pointing his nose up ignoring Rin did the same as Saber picked up the book and continued.

**"Do you mind if I join you?" I asked anyway, for the sake of politeness. When Tabitha didn't say anything, I assumed it as an assent and sat down next to her.**

**"Well then, Derflinger," I said to the sword I had taken off my back and placed before me before starting to rummage through the rucksack, "You ready?"**

**"Absolutely, partner," it said to me, its quillion jerking up and down like a mouth. It sounded eager, and I don't blame it. It's probably been a long time since anyone even attempted to clean up the sword.**

**Displayed in front of me were a few basic supplies: oil I had gotten from the castle's stables that was used for the care of the metal work on the harnesses, some soft and coarse rags I had gotten from the kitchen that were used for scrubbing pots, and a grinding stone used to file nicks and sharpen the edges of the blade, also taken from the kitchen. Nobles apparently didn't hold much with swords in the first place and this was an academy so there was no armory or anything for me to get proper supplies from, so I had to improvise to get all this.**

**"Now," I cautioned the blade, "I've never done this before, so you're going to have to walk me through this." All of my blades just disappeared after I didn't need them, so upkeep was never very high on my list of concerns.**

"That's no excuse for not knowing oh well at least you are learning now if you ever want to learn now just ask okay Shirou" Saber said pausing in her reading to comment. Shirou just nodded if it would make Saber happy he would do it.

**"No worries, partner," it declared. Patiently, it began to explain the process to me, how to use the oil to soak the rust, the coarse cloth to scrub it off after it had been loosened, the soft clothe to clean up the oil afterwards, and the stone to hone the blade itself. I'd probably get no further than the oiling today. Derflinger had accumulated a lot of rust of the years, so it'd take more than just one session to properly clean it.**

**As I carefully covered the blade with oil, using my fingers to work it deep into the coarse rust, I glanced casually over the assembled students all diligently doing their best to drill circus tricks into their companions. Curious as to just why this fair was such a big deal to everyone I spoke up, asking Tabitha, "Just why is everyone so concerned with this Evaluation Fair?"**

**I didn't expect Tabitha to answer in any way besides turning a page in her book, so I started a little when she responded back. "Princess," she whispered, and then turned the page like I had predicted. Do to her quiet and passive nature, I'd tentatively placed the blue haired girl into the 'unlikely to be an enemy' column, and combined with the fact that her familiar kept putting the two of us together, I'd been making the effort to at least be friendly to the girl, but this was the first time she'd ever responded to me directly since the day after my summons when she nodded to my question in the courtyard.**

**"Princess?" I asked back, a little confused by her perfunctory explanation. "There's going to be a princess in attendance?" She nodded. That would make sense I suppose. If royalty is going to be watching, then I could see why everyone would make an effort to at least not embarrass themselves. But if that was the case, why would Kirche be going out of her way? I'd heard the story from Louise the night I'd first been targeted by the busty red head. It seemed the Valliere and the Zerbst, which was Kirche's family, were on opposite sides of the border between their two countries. Consequently, whenever tension broke out between the two countries those two families were amongst the first to butt heads. It was a feud that had been going on for centuries.**

**Tabitha seemed to notice my gaze and confusion, despite never taking her eyes off the page in front of her. "Prize," she supplied. Ah. If there was a prize for first place, then that would explain everything.**

"Yes once there is a prize everyone wants to participate" Saber said knowingly no doubt she had organized many such competitions herself .

**"Thanks," I told her politely.**

**She shook her head in response. "For feeding Sylphid," she explained.**

**"Well then, you're welcome," I returned, and without another word we both turned back to our own tasks, neither one of us really feeling the urge to talk. We managed to keep ourselves in our own peaceful worlds till Kirche noticed me. When she called me darling, Flame, who had been in the middle of breathing flame suddenly turned his head to face me, and Tabitha had to cast a protection spell to keep the two of us from being fried by the careless salamander. As both affectionate lizard and affectionate red head came charging towards us in order to smother me with affection, we both sighed and put away our supplies, resigned to the fact that the peace had been shattered.**

***Scene Break***

**"Any luck then?" I asked Louise while we sat drinking tea before bed, as was becoming a habit for the two of us.**

**"None," she sighed. "I've checked all the sections that are available to students, on every subject related to familiars that I could find, and a few that aren't, and I've still found nothing on human familiars." I nodded at the news, and put a tea cup in front of her. She had already changed for the night, and I'd made sure to put the laundry in the corner already while she did so. She took the offered cup of tea, and blew on it lightly, before taking a sip. She smiled in obvious pleasure at it, giving me a warm glow of pride. Nothing is quite as satisfying as watching someone enjoy something that you prepared yourself.**

**I pulled up a chair myself, joining her at the table. Derflinger was placed there as well, though he was being silent at the moment. "Well," I acknowledged, "it was a long shot." She just moodily stared at her tea. "So which are you going to try next? The over powering theory or the affinity theory?"**

"I would say the affinity theory is more likely" Rin said, Shirou did not doubt her she had much more experience than him.

**She sighed again, and put the tea down before throwing both her arms over the table and slouching down till her chin rested on it. "I don't know how to do anything about either one. If it was the over powering theory you came up with, than I don't have any idea how to go about correcting it. As far as I can tell, no one has ever even heard of such a thing before. And if it's the affinity theory, than that would mean I'd have to find some specifically destructive spells. That kind of thing isn't exactly taught in school." I nod my head. It wouldn't do to have an entire school of over powered hormonal teenagers with puffed up self importance know too much about magic specifically meant to destroy. They managed to come up with that well enough on their own.**

**"Then the only thing to do is self experimentation," I conclude. Louise nodded at my conclusion.**

**"It would be best to do it outside of the school," she continued. "If it is something like explosions, then I might get in trouble if it turns out you're right and I accidentally destroy something important. And if it's just a matter of me over powering…" she trailed off, looking uncomfortable, so I finished it for her knowingly.**

**"You'd rather not anyone see you making a fool of yourself trying to figure it out?" She bit her lip and nodded reluctantly at that. "Well then, Master. Would you like for me to scout the area tonight and find an appropriate place nearby in which to practice?"**

**"Yes," she said, turning my suggestion into her order. "Some place close enough that it won't take too long for us to travel there, but far enough that no one will be disturbed by any potential failures. Preferably somewhere open, like a glade or such." I nod my head at the specifics, committing them to memory and preparing myself for a few hours out and about in the night.**

**"Understood, Master," I gave my typical response to her whenever she gave an order. She gave me a small smile, peeking out from beneath her hair where she was still lying on the table bonelessly. I decided to change the topic. "So what's the deal with you and that princess?"**

**"What?" Louise gaped at me, sitting up ramrod straight at my sudden question. Earlier during the day, all the students had been gathered together in order to give a proper greeting to the arriving queen. She'd shown up in a parade of carriages, which of all things had been drawn by unicorns. There had been a general murmur from the crowd when the queen came out, and do to the difference in size between me and most of the students I'd had a pretty easy time seeing her, even though I had been stationed in the back do to my status as a familiar.**

**"You had a look on your face like you were thinking of something important," I explained.**

**Louise relaxed a bit at that, though her face looked a little troubled. "I-i-it's nothing," she stuttered in the way she only stutters when it actually is something.**

**I took a stab in the dark. "If you're plotting a revolt, then you need only give the order," I inform her helpfully. "But you should be warned that even someone such as I would have trouble if our involvement became known and the army was deployed against us."**

"Really Shirou you would go against the army by yourself" Saber said impressed by his bravery and stupidity she very much doubted Shirou could handle an army.

**"W-w-w-w-what? R-r-r-r-revolt!" Louise gasped, sounding outraged at the very idea of it. She slammed both her hands down on the table, rattling the tea cups. "There will be no revolting against the queen!" she ordered instantly.**

**I nodded. "So there will be no assassination then?" I asked just to confirm.**

**"A-a-a-a-assassination!" Louise face turned very red and her free hand started inching towards her wand without her realizing it.**

**"Um, partner," Derflinger said, sounding nervous, "don't forget to take me with you now. That girl tends to get indiscriminate when she gets riled up."**

**"Right," I acknowledged, quickly getting a hold of my blade and backing away slowly from the enraged pinkette. "It's getting late and I'm sure you're getting tired, so I'll just be getting on that searching for an isolated location right now…." Though my Master was generally very good at not back sliding into her original habits, I'd discovered that every once in a while she would display, um, excessive zeal in the area of discipline.**

**"Get back here, you dog!" she screeched as I quickly threw the door open and tried to make my escape. I was halted unexpectedly when I found myself colliding with a hooded figure that had been directly in front of the door and about to knock. Louise paused as well with the sudden witness to her planned murder.**

**"Um," the figure said softly, and then darted into the room. "Pardon my intrusion!"**

**I'd gotten used to the fact that my first response in this new world didn't necessary have to be violence. Thus, in this particular instance I allowed my first response to be shutting the door.**

**Naturally, my second response was to place my hand on Derflinger and prepared to draw it if necessary.**

"Good job Shirou you have adapted to your environment yet one of your first instincts is to go for your sword I am proud that you have this postnasal" Saber smiled as she was reassured that he did not have to become Archer to get his full postnasal.

**"Who are you?" Louise said, sounding nervous by the fact that some stranger from nowhere had just invaded her room, but when she affirmed the sight of me behind the intruder, she calmed herself.**

**"It's been a while, hasn't it, Louise Francoise," the figure said and lowered their hood.**

**Louise gaped. "Princess Henrietta!" she gasped, as the revealed royalty moved to embrace her.**

**"So I guess the two know each other," I mentioned quietly to the sword.**

**"Seems that way," the sword agreed. "Looks pretty amicable. Guess that's why she got so upset when you offered to assassinate her," it concluded.**

**"Wait, what?" the princess said, apparently not having caught the little aside me and the sword had completely, but having heard a bit of it. Louise glared at me over the princess' shoulder and made a threatening motion across her neck at me.**

**"Nothing at all," I declare instantly. "So how do the two of you know each other," I prompt, changing the subject quickly.**

**"I had the honor of being a royal playmate in our youth," Louise supplied, looking shy as the princess turned back to her, taking my word for it when I dismissed her question.**

**"Can't you not say we were simply childhood friends?" Henrietta sighed, looking disappointed at Louise's declaration. "Ah, how I've longed to meet you again," the princess declared, seemingly honestly touched to be reunited with her long past friend. Then she turned to eye me embarrassedly. "But it seems I have interrupted your time with your lover," she apologized, looking discomforted at her timing.**

**"L-l-l-lover?" Louise gaped, turning red again in embarrassment. "He's not my lover, he's my Servant!" Henrietta gave her a puzzled look at the declaration. I was rather pleased with the fact that even when overcome with distress my Master got the title right at least.**

**"But isn't it more appropriate for an attendant this late at night to be female?" Henrietta asked, confused.**

**"Servant is the technical term for a human familiar," I supplied, still leaning against the door.**

**"Wouldn't it just be easier to give in and use the term' familiar'?" Derflinger suggested. "You're going to get that kind of mistake pretty often, partner."**

**"Then I'll make the correction pretty often too," I tell the sword, crossing my arm stubbornly. "It's a matter of pride."**

Saber smiled at the reminder that his memory of servants had left him with such respect.

**"Forgive him, princess," Louise quickly said, stepping in between the royalty and myself. "Why aren't you bowing?" she half hissed, half growled at me.**

**"Technically, as your Servant, you're the only one I'm required by etiquette to defer too," I informed her. "It doesn't matter to me if the one in front of me is a beggar on the street or a king on a throne."**

**"You will treat the princess with the same respect you would me," she ordered desperately, sending furious glances back and forth between me and Henrietta, frantically checking to see if I offended the visiting royalty.**

**"As you command, Master," I respond, and then went to one knee in as courtly a fashion as I could manage. "I am called Shirou Emiya, your highness. Please forgive my earlier misconduct if I have given offense." I hoped that would be enough for princess. I'm really not that up to date on the courtly ins and outs.**

**"There is nothing to forgive," the princess smiled at me warmly. "Your dedication to your Master is indeed praiseworthy." It appears my earlier declaration of intent had impressed her. "Please, look after my old friend," she curtsied to me lightly.**

**"You need not ask that of me, your highness," I answered honestly. "It is my solemn duty to do so above all else." Louise seemed satisfied with my response, and Henrietta smiled even further.**

**"If only more among the court were so loyal as you," she declared with a smile, and then offered her hand to me. Louise gasped, though I could only stare at it dumbly for a moment.**

**"Master," I said finally, speaking in a whisper and ignoring the fact that the princess could probably hear me just fine. "I'm still unfamiliar with certain customs of your land. Am I supposed to shake the hand or something else?"**

**"She's offering you the chance to kiss her," Louise whispered back.**

**"On the hand?" I asked for confirmation.**

**"Where else would you kiss the princess?" she whispered back, sounding outraged that I would consider placing my lips on the princess anywhere but the offered digits.**

**"Gotcha," I concluded our conversation, and turned back to the princess who had regarded the whole thing with a kind of wide eyed bafflement. Taking her hand in mine, I placed a brief kiss on the back of her knuckles. "Like that, right?"**

**"Exactly," Louise confirmed, seeming miffed at my inexperience, and humiliated that I was putting such a show on in front of someone she obviously thought so highly of.**

Rin smiled amused this was so very Shirou like. She was not to sure of how to feel about this Shirou it was like someone had fused Shirou with Archer she could understand why they were the same people after all. Still should she be happy that Shirou had adjusted so well or sad that Shirou had changed.

**Henrietta took the hand that she had offered and used it to cover her mouth as she began to giggle at our behavior. "It is most comforting to see you two get along so well," she declared. She pulled her hood back up and made her way to the door. Louise and I both stood as well, and I made sure to open the door for the exiting girl. "Good luck tomorrow, the both of you."**

**"Well, you get final say in the prize, so if you really want us to have good luck…" I began, and Louise promptly slammed her foot down on mine to shut me up. The princess giggled again, and then made her way out into the night**

There it was again while before he was Shirou like now he did an Archer line they had been just sentences apart he was that mixed up with Archer she still was not sure how to feel she would decide once they finished reading it.

***Scene Break***

**"See," I told her, comforting her with an 'I told you so'. "I told you so."**

**"Well, at least you were well received by the crowd," Louise said sarcastically.**

**"I take some comfort in that, actually," I responded honestly. "The fact that they laughed us off the stage means that they're still not taking me seriously. Everybody who saw me almost kill Guiche has convinced themselves that it was no big deal, and everyone who just heard of it has decided not to believe in it."**

**"Is all you care about concealing your strength?" Louise demanded of me, whirling on me angrily. "I barely had the opportunity to announce you as my Servant before everyone there was shouting out, 'Oh look, it's Louise the Zero's commoner' and 'Ha, ha! Another failure, Louise?'!" Louise kept pace with me the entire time she was ranting, until we cleared the nearby wall and started to make our way into the courtyard so outside her dormitory. She was so busy venting at me, that the only thing she did when I suddenly stopped was stop herself so that she could continue to pepper me with her angry recounting of the disaster at the festival from a few minutes ago.**

**"Well, don't worry," I tell her, my face expressionless. "I'm sure you'll have a chance to prove them wrong."**

**"Oh?" she continued ranting, both of her tiny hands clenched into fists and shaking at her side as she arched her back like an angry cat again. "And when is that going to happen? Argh! The princess was there too, and she saw me getting laughed at," she muttered, stomping her feet.**

**"Well, how about stopping what appears to be a thief on a hundred foot tall rock golem from breaking into the academy," I suggested, my eyes locked over my Master's head.**

"Shirou where would" and then Rin cut herself off as she realized with Shirou's luck it was likely happening right now.

**"And where am I going to find a thief on a hundred foot tall rock golem?" Louise demanded of me, rolling her eyes at the suggestion.**

**"Right behind you would be a good place to start," I answered, pointing with one hand, and putting the other hand on Derflinger. Even as my fingers grazed the hilt, I noticed again the runes on my hand beginning to glow like they did when I wielded steel against Guiche.**

**"Huh?" Louise managed, her rant's momentum broken as she glanced over her shoulder and saw that yes, there really was a gigantic earthen monstrosity behind her, and that the rider on its shoulder didn't look to happy for us to be witnessing its presence.**

**The figure, robed so securely that I couldn't identify their gender, called down to the two of us, me patiently awaiting a reaction and Louise frozen in her tracks by this unexpected development, "Not your lucky day!" The golem's massive arm, as big around as three of me stacked on top of one another came down faster than I thought possible to crush the two of us like a bug.**

**Even as Louise 'eeped' in surprise, I wrapped the arm not drawing Derflinger around her slim waist, reinforced my legs, and kicked away as fast as I could. Once more, the sheer speed of my movement surpassed anything that should have been possible. Even as the air whipped through our hair, causing Louise's long locks to billow like crimson tracers behind us, my eyes settled on the glow emitting from my left hand. I see.**

**It seems that the contract had done more than just drag me across the improbable distances and given me an untrendy pseudo-tattoo. Time for me to put the theory to the test. I stopped several hundred feet away from where the golem's fist was just finishing caving in the earth on which we once stood, and Louise's frightened eyes looked up into mine.**

**"Withdraw to a safe distance, Master," I order her, my tone once more like ice. I turned my attention wholly on the golem in front of me, and the figure which was regarding the two of us with what I assumed to be surprise at our survival. "Derflinger," I said, drawing the ancient blade.**

**"Aye, partner," it agreed, sounding eager.**

**"It's time for us to see how well we work together," I informed it.**

**"Show me your best, partner, and I'll give you mine," it proclaimed cheerfully. And as the two of us prepared to enter combat…**

**"No!" my Master declared, darting past me. Her jaw was determined, and she planted her feet shoulder width apart and raised her wand in front of her, already chanting. The golem and its caster, seeing her priming for a spell, were quick to react, driving the fist of the huge creature at the diminutive figure of my Master.**

**Damn, I swore in my head. There was no time for me to say it aloud, as I was already moving. I wasn't certain what the consequences of disturbing my Master's incantation would be. Louise's magic was already by nature volatile, and there was no telling what might happen if I disturbed her before the incantation was finished. It might just back fire and end up killing her itself. The only option was to stop the fist first.**

**With several tons of rock coming down, I did the thing which I have learned to do the most: I trusted the steel in my hand. Reinforcing myself to the maximum of my ability, and trusting in the strange power that the runes in my hand seemed to impart to me, I moved like a steel whirl wind. Darting past Louise's still frame I met the fist several yards away from its intended destination, and darted past it. Aiming at the wrist I swung Derflinger at the thinnest point of the limb. The sword extended to its fullest length above my head, and was just long enough to sever all but the thinnest portion of wrist. Passing to the other side with the strike, I dug the blade deep into the earth, almost to its hilt. Using it as purchase on the otherwise flat ground, I stopped my momentum, coiled myself as tight as I could, and launched my entire body weight at the dangling appendage which was even now still heading to crush my master, and was also even now starting to regenerate from the damage I dealt it.**

**The force of my body hit the fist, and with all the strange speed of the runes and the power of my reinforced body, my momentum was enough to finish the severing and cast the fist to the side. It thundered past my Master, missing her by several feet, and the arm stopped when the golem summoner noticed my defense. My body bruised from the impact with the hard appendage, I took note of the fact that my runes had fallen dim, and that now all that moved my body was the magic I had placed there myself. I had traveled no more than a few feet from Derflinger, but with the magic behemoth already priming its second fist to finish the job of the first, I held my hand in front of me and prepared to trace a new weapon.**

**I had just the one planned for this thing.**

**However, that was when the duel between me and construct was interrupted. My Master had finished her incantation.**

**"Fireball!" she declared, and brandished her wand in front of her eagerly. For a second, nothing happened, and in one of those crystal moments that only come in combat I saw utter self condemnation appear on my Master's face.**

**And then the second passed, and two things happened: a small section of the shoulder that the caster was not standing on chipped and shattered. The second thing was that the wall of the academy behind it exploded with a force I could feel from here.**

**My Master had missed.**

**The caster looked behind them, startled by the sudden percussion erupting behind it, and I saw their frame straighten in glee. I took advantage of the distraction to reclaim Derflinger from the ground, and with a blade once more in my hand, the runes shown again. With the sudden lightness of my body present once more, I placed myself between my Master, who had fallen to her knees and hung her head at her performance, and the golem who was even now rearing back its hand to finish shattering the wall that had borne the brunt of Louise's assault.**

**"Master," I called behind me, the first words I had spoken since combat began, "are you well?" I demanded, refusing to take my eyes off the foe, which had scampered down the arm that had buried itself in the castle and was rummaging in the room that lay beyond.**

**"Again. I failed again," she muttered only in response. I took that as an affirmative. But however much I wished to close and deal with the foe before me, I maintained my position, standing sentinel between the fragile girl behind me and the immovable object in front. The duty of a Servant, above even that of striking down their enemies, is to protect their Master.**

**"Thanks a lot, kids," the golem's master proclaimed, sounding giddy. "I appreciate it!" As the golem turned to escape with the master on it holding their ill-gotten gains tightly to their chest, I decided that this just wouldn't do. Even as I noticed the fast shape of a flying dragon, Sylphid whom I could identify even at this distance, my eyes narrowed and I prepared a parting shot of my own.**

**As ice bloomed upon the giant of clay, cast by Tabitha who rode her familiar with grace worthy of Rider class any day of the week, I buried Derflinger in the ground and held both hands before me.**

**Trace on.**

**In my left hand blossomed a bow. It was recurved, and bearing a long string height, almost impossibly long for a person to wield. It had to be. This bow wasn't meant to fire simple arrows.**

While they had been quiet while a fight was going on respecting Shirou to much to interrupt that bow it was

"Archer" Rin whispered she could see Archer's bow in Shirou's hand she wondered would Shirou shoot the noble phantom that had taken one of Berserker's lives.

**In my right hand, I traced Caladbolg II. It was a sword, a noble phantasm once carried by Fergus Mac Roich and was a cursed blade that was said to be able to cut through rock like water. It had been specifically reshaped to make it more aerodynamic. Resembling a gigantic screw with a handle more than anything else, I charged it with od, more od than it could handle readily, making it fragile, making it dangerous.**

**Making it a broken phantasm.**

**Notching the incredibly long projectile, the rune on my hand once more blossomed in light. It seems it wasn't just swords that caused this strange boost in my ability. As I aimed, I thought to take shot at center mass: the greatest target and most probable area to hit from this angle. However, as the runes shown I knew that if wherever it was I aimed would strike true, so I corrected my aim so that my target wasn't the golem, but the rider on the shoulder.**

**The rider had apparently turned back to gloat one more time, and having caught sight of me with weapon drawn had smirked visibly to my reinforced eyes right now. Almost mockingly they had the golem raise its hand to impede my shot.**

**I released the broken phantasm. The arm disappeared. Like the wrath of an entire pantheon of angry gods, Caladbolg II, specially modified to be the most destructive projectile it could be and charged past the point where even its mythical frame could handle it, destroyed the impeding limb utterly, shedding dirt and rock in a spray that stretched nearly twice the golem's height high into the air. The shock wave of the explosive force released tumbled Tabitha and Sylphid through the air, nearly unseating the rider and crashing the beast. It was only the safe distance the two were keeping to stay out of reach that kept them from their own damaged potential fate.**

**It is only thanks to the inherent density of the golem's arm that saved the rider. The arm had been enough to deflect the projectile, even if only minimally, and so after it finished destroying the limb it sheared over the rider and barely managed to clip the golem's head before continuing its fantastic arch. The part it did touch was destroyed as well.**

**In my reinforced eyes, the rider was no long laughing.**

**Good.**

**Meeting the magi's now frightened gaze with my own cold one, I began tracing a second projectile. Deciding that maybe taunting the wielder of immensely destructive power wasn't the best of ideas, the rider promptly set about attempting to break land speed records with it's now thoroughly maimed golem.**

**I completed my trace, but not soon enough. The golem had cleared the castle walls with its long stride, and was now purposely slinging itself low, impeding my aim. With narrowed eyes, I considered pursuing, but the voice behind me broke me from my battle lust.**

**"U-u-u-unbelievable…" Louise had breathed out, her voice sounding dry, echoing with sheer awe. A short distance away, Sylphid and Tabitha had landed, and though the dragon herself didn't seem too concerned by what she had seen, actually looking more eager to check if I had any food on me, the rider, whom for some reason had a little bronze crown perched on her blue hair, had once more completely disregarded her book in favor of studying me intensely. In the background I heard raised voices, guards both of the academy and of the royal type clamoring about, rushing to the scene too late.**

**"Master," I ground out, and when I turned to face her Louise flinched in front of me. "I would consult with you, Master, at a later time. I would consult with you most earnestly." Louise could tell. Tabitha could tell. Sylphid could tell. Hell, even the random guards who were finally managing to arrive at the scene could tell.**

**I was furious.**

**Louise gulped.**

***Scene Break***

**I was relaxed. Utterly relaxed. There was no tense bone in my body, no scowl on my face, no clenched fist. I sat at the table in Louise's room, a cup of tea before me. Beside me, propped on a chair with a steaming cup of tea in front of it was Derflinger. The sword had been silent since the battle. I'm not sure what it was thinking about, in its sentient steel, but whatever it was thinking it kept to itself. Thus was the prerogative of steel, so I made no effort to break it's silence. Sitting across from me was my Master.**

**She was nowhere near as composed as me. The hand holding her cup of tea was shaking, and even as she tried her best to sip the calming brew she held, more of it spilled than was tasted. It had been some hours since the two of us had confronted the thief, whose identity had been revealed to us as Fouquet the 'Crumbling dirt', a famous thief who made a habit of targeting nobles and noble treasure. I didn't care for the specifics. All that mattered to me was that they had been an enemy. They had been an enemy, and they had escaped. I hated when enemies escaped. They always came back tougher and stronger, wiser and more prepared for your techniques.**

**And I really hated that.**

**Louise was trembling. She had been trembling since the encounter had ended, during the questioning that followed, on the trip back to the room, during her changing, and while she sat, waiting patiently, for me to prepare the tea that now sat before us.**

**I decided to break the silence. "Was that your first battle?" As much as I wished to leap straight into the subject that I desired to consult my Master with, my Master's safety came first, above all else.**

**"Yes," Louise whispered, for once sounding like she looked: fragile and delicate. She was always a person who held herself upright, who somehow through her upbringing and character managed to portray herself precisely as she wished to be seen: a noble, a higher example of the social mores and responsibilities that she attempted to portray and the ideals that she constantly forced herself to live by. To see her so different was a little jarring.**

**"Any thoughts about it?" I encouraged, willing to shelve my concerns till she was at more stable ground.**

**"It was so fast," she murmured. "I barely had time to chant one spell, and before I knew it they were about to smash me."**

**"Yes," I agreed with her, and decided to hand her down some of my own hard won experience. "That's the way a fight usually goes. All those stories you hear about epic duels and grand confrontations stretching on for hours on end till both sides are proud and exhausted are the useless prattle of unrestrained romantics. A real fight is decided by whomever is the most willing to hurt the other, and whichever one is fastest putting that intent in motion."**

**"Like your fight with Guiche?" Louise asked, sounding very much like a scared girl who had just managed to survive staring up at an eight ton fist that was about to squash her like a bug.**

**"When he challenged me, that's the kind of thing he was expecting: a noble playing around with a commoner. He probably never even intended to really hurt me too badly. Because of that, my will to end the fight completely over shadowed his, and he froze. I actually held back a bit in the beginning of that fight. I wanted a chance to see how the magi of your land fought. But once he no longer was capable of showing me anything, then I moved to end it." My explanation seemed to be soothing to her. She'd come to trust my judgment in these situations, and my calm explanation could almost be seen as something as mundane as the lecture of one of her professors in a classroom.**

**Gradually during my lecture her shaking had began to subside. She finally managed to lift the cup of tea to her lips and sip it without spilling.**

**"What was that?" she asked me finally. "At the end, the bow and arrow?" Her eyes were wide, and I could see the unspoken question there. Still, I tried my best to dodge it.**

**"I did tell you that I was qualified for the Archer class," I reminded her, acting as though I misunderstood her intention.**

**"That's not what I mean," she snapped at me sullenly.**

**"I'm wondering too, partner," Derflinger spoke up, reminding both of us that the sword was more than just a piece of metal propped up beside us. "It may have been a while, but I know a noble phantasm when I see one. Not just a noble phantasm, but a broken phantasm at that. I might be six thousand years old, but even in that much time a broken phantasm isn't something you forget, no matter how rare it is."**

**"Noble phantasm? Broken phantasm?" Louise asked, her confusion apparent as she cocked her head to the side, the cup of tea in front of her stopped right before a sip, and little question marks seemingly appearing beside her head.**

**"A noble phantasm is an item or ability that is so legendary that it ascends into myth and gains incredible power," I explain, knowing the jig was up and surrendering to the inevitable. "They're items of immense power, capable of feats that can't easily be copied even through magic. They're the treasures of the heroic spirits."**

**"Heroic spirits?" Louise ventured. She seemed put out upon by the fact that every time she asks me to explain something I seem to bring up three more things each time that also need explaining.**

**"People who achieved such fame in life that even after their deaths, the worship and adoration of the people who tell legends of them allow their spirits to ascend to a higher level of power, and escape the usual cycle of what happens to souls after death." The concept was so alien to Louise that she had trouble wrapping her mind around it. "If it helps, think of it as someone who did something so incredible in life that they become guardian angels when they die. They in effect become semi-divine beings," I supplied. I wasn't too sure about the religious beliefs of this world, so I could only hope that Louise wouldn't descend into religiously induced hysteria and start denouncing me as a heretic.**

**"That's impossible," she instead stated. "There is only one god, and there is no way that a human can…"**

**Derflinger, surprisingly enough interrupts her. "Not at all, missy," it said seriously. "I've fought with and beside a few heroic spirits in my time. You see a lot in six thousand years that history forgets. Believe me, they're real." It was an unusual tone for the sword to take. Usually Derflinger seemed to take constant amusement at the follies of those around it, and that combined with the fact that it usually complained childishly every time something didn't go its way it was easy to sometimes forget the sheer weight of years the steel carried with it.**

**Louise glanced helplessly from blade to Servant, and when she saw the fact that both of us were being completely serious, and the solemn way with which we were treating the subject, she seemed to decide that even if she didn't believe us, she could at least humor us.**

**"So then what is a broken phantasm?" she instead asked, getting back on the earlier topic.**

**"It's when the wielder of a noble phantasm overcharges the noble phantasm to such a degree that it self-destructs," I tell her bluntly. There really wasn't any other way to describe it. "It typically allows the weapon to achieve an effect far greater than its usual ability, but at the cost of destroying it afterwards. The reason it's so rare, even among heroic spirits, is because most of the time the wielder wouldn't even dream of ruining so powerful an item." I give a smug grin at that. "However, for someone like me, who was only wielding an imitation of the weapon, it means that I can use it to simply up the power of my attack whenever I need to."**

**"That's a pretty scary trick there, partner," Derflinger acknowledged.**

**"So was that what you meant when you said you had swords that could split mountains?" she asked, putting two and two together.**

**"Yes. Since I only need to see a weapon in order to recreate it later, I've managed to gather together quite a few noble phantasms," thank you, Gates of Babylon. Your gift has been gratefully received.**

Shirou smiled he know Rin and Saber wanted to tack but was allowing him to tack first he know the moment he spoke they would be speaking for some time so they continued the book.

**"How many is quite a few?" Louise asked, curious as to the exact nature of my armory.**

**"A couple hundred," I admit sheepishly.**

**Louise and Derflinger both spit-taked. This was particularly amusing, seeing as Derflinger wasn't actually drinking the tea in front of him anyway. "A-a-a c-c-c-couple h-h-h-hundred?" Louise stuttered, her eyes almost literally transforming into descending spirals a she tried to wrap her head around the idea of her Servant casually bandying around legendary blades like she saw today.**

**Then her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists. "You have hundreds of legendary blades, and you couldn't even use one of them today? We could have won the competition for sure!" she accused.**

**I stared at her blankly. "You wanted me to call forth a sword of immensely destructive power and wield it for the sake of what amounts to a talent show?"**

**"Yes!" Louise declared adamantly, fire in her eyes. "The queen would have been so impressed! She would have known that she could rely on me, and we would have won, and I'd be able to look down on the beaten Kirche as she begged me for forgiveness, and I would have been like, 'No! Grovel like the worm you are for forgiveness for your sins!', and Kirche would have been like…" Louise continued to rant, her eyes trembling with unshed tears of joy as she saw the scene in her head. She had even begun acting it out, standing beside the table and staring down at the imaginary parishers for whom she would show no mercy.**

**"That girl can be pretty scary, partner," Derflinger commented, sounding mildly disturbed by the scene before it.**

**"Truly, my Master is most terrifying," I agreed somberly.**

**It was when she started making hand motions for what I assumed was an imaginary whip that I finally broke her tirade. "As comforting as it is to know that your priorities are all in order, Master, I would like to return to an earlier topic with which I would like to consult with you."**

**My phrasing seemed to bring her out of her imaginary world, wherein she seemed to be grinding her foot onto some unidentified body part of some unidentified offender. "Huh?" she said, turning to blink at me twice**

**"Earlier, in battle, why did you not heed my advice and retreat?" I asked, my tone completely bland.**

**"As a noble, I would never allow myself to back down from such a conflict," she stated instantly, as though reciting something from memory that she had had drilled into her from a young age.**

**"And in doing so, you deliberately placed yourself before me and in the path of an enemy," I pointed out, my tone still bland. Louise seemed to have noticed my tone, and was starting to look a great deal less enthusiastic then she was earlier.**

**"Um, Shirou," she began. "Are you angry?"**

**"Yes," I said in the same tone. "I'm furious." And then I smiled at her. She 'eeped' in response. I don't blame her. This was the patented Tohsaka Rin 'I'm so amazed by the stupidity of what I just witnessed that it is only this smile which is keeping me from coming over there and beating aforementioned stupidity out of you' smile. Like her poses, Rin had some very expressive smiles. I pointed at the chair she had left.**

Rin grounded her teeth Emiya had the nerve to steal her patented smiles oh she was going to get him. Shirou gulped Rin was wearing a scary smile again why did his very thoughts betray him.

**Louise seemingly teleported herself back to her seat, placing both of her hands on her knees and bowing her head contritely, looking up at me from her lowered position with eyes that seemed to scream 'I'm a little girl! Please forgive me!'**

**"I would have you explain to me why you did not heed my advice in battle. Please do so now," I nodded my head. The smile on my face grew wider.**

**"U-u-u-um," Louise stuttered, shrinking even further. "A magician that abandons their familiar is not a magician at all?" she finally supplied to me in a small voice.**

**"And in what way is withdrawing to a safe position abandoning me, Master?" I asked, tilting my head curiously. "If a magician that abandons their familiar is not a magician at all, then a Servant who allows harm to come to their Master is not a Servant at all. A servant is not a person, they are a weapon. They fight and die at their Master's command. They are wielded by their Masters to destroy or delay the Masters' enemies. The proper place for a Servant is on the field of battle, serving as the sword and the shield that defends the Master behind them. For a Master to attempt to join the Servant on the field of battle, it is most troubling for the Servant."**

Saber looked like she wanted to hurt him for being such a hypocrite but she would wait to see what he said.

**This is karma. I just know it. This is cosmic retribution for all the times I must have worried my own Servant like this. I'm certain that Root of the World was responsible for this. I am equally certain that this was proof that the Root was in some way intelligent, and possessing of a malicious sense of irony. It was the only logical explanation for these circumstances.**

**"But I had to do something!" Louise finally rallied enough gumption in the face of my silent wrath that she tried to defend her actions. "I can't just be the Zero anymore," she declared, nearly sobbing. "Even though I summoned such a powerful Servant, I just keep failing. Even today…" she ran out of steam, collapsing in on herself and looking truly pitiful. "Even today I just screwed up again. I'm just good for nothing, Louise the Zero."**

**"Besides my Master's choice of position," I informed her, "the only failure my Master committed was in not correcting her aim."**

**"But my spell didn't do anything. It just chipped the golem's shoulder. You're arrow destroyed an entire arm! Even when you were just swinging your sword, you managed to cut off its entire hand!" she argued, determined to find fault with her actions beside her inability to find an appropriate place to chant in.**

**"Yes," I acknowledged. "Your spell, through a glancing hit only managed to chip the golem. Whereas Tabitha, who is already acknowledged as one of the most powerful students of your class, failed to do even that when landing a direct hit." My point made her jaw drop and her eyes widened. "You are still unfamiliar with combat, which is why you did not notice that detail. I may assure you, I did notice it. If you are so determined to assist in battle, then let us take this night to devise proper strategies for doing so." My smile widened even further. This time Derflinger joined Louise in her 'eep'. Yes, Rin's smiles were seriously that scary. "And in the future, your Servant will be most eager to provide assistance in developing your skills to the point where they will be applicable to the battlefield." Louise shrank till only her eyes were peeping out from beneath the table. Somehow, Derflinger managed to do the same. "Your Servant guarantees it."**

Zelretch appeared

"Yes im going to be okay wait what are you doing" Shirou interrupted himself as Zelretch throw a shinai at Saber she caught it and smiled an evil grin.

Shirou instantly traced a wooded copy of Byakuya and Kanshou he had the advantage as his were copy's of his own blades so he was much more familiar with it than Saber was of her shinai in fact this was probably one of the few times she used it. This was countered by the fact Saber was much more skilled than him. Shirou lasted a minute before he was disarmed Shirou instantly summoned a new copy of Byakuya and Kanshou unfortunely since these were his instincts instead of a wooded Byakuya and Kanshou that was only wood that had no enchantments he summoned the real Byakuya and Kanshou Saber's shinai slammed into Byakuya and Kanshou it was instantly cut in half. Deprived of her shinai Saber punched him in the face with a prana burst that sent Shirou flying.

While this was going on she watched amused though it quickly became painful as Shirou was using Archer's style. When Shirou traced the real Byakuya and Kanshou she watched alarmed as Saber's shinai destroyed. Than she smiled as Saber punched Shirou out.

"Okay I feel better now Master do you realize just what a hypocrite you are" In her anger and sadness she reverted to calling Shirou master. Saber had tears in her eye as Shirou thought of himself as a weapon.

"Saber while I admit that was hypocritical of me why did you react so violently." Shirou sighed as he was ignored. Saber just picked up the book and read once more.

***Scene Break***

_**Louise stared out from beneath the covers she had hidden herself in. Okay. Her Servant was definitely cooler than a dragon or a griffin. In fact, her Servant was probably cooler than a dragon and a griffin combined. A Driffin? A Gragon? It didn't matter.**_

_**That being said, she made it a point to try and not get her Servant that angry ever again. It was like staring down an angry big sister Eleanor. An angry big sister Eleanor that could also summon monstrously powerful weapons capable of devastating entire castles. **_

Rin smiled amused she was not sure why Saber felt so angry at Shirou. But this was amusing.

_**She wasn't certain why Shirou was so willing to serve her. He had already admitted that by the standard rules, he could go off and do whatever he wanted to, yet for some reason he seemed content to stay and help her. And help her he did. He had protected her willingly and ably today, and had on more than one occasion helped her, pointing out how to improve her own abilities, giving her the confidence to continue trying to improve.**_

_**Still, even though she was happy to have someone like him to serve her, she couldn't help but feel saddened by his words earlier. She acknowledged that it was typical to regard a familiar as something less than human, but that was because typically they weren't human. For her Servant, a young man who was nearly an adult, probably only two or three years older than herself, to so casually and completely think of himself as nothing more than a weapon somehow made her feel unpleasant. **_

_**That night, Louise dreamed of swords and battles.**_

_**In that dream, her Servant stood against a woman this time. Casting a glance at her Servant's enemy, Louise found herself sincerely hoping that these dreams were in some way prophetic. Even if the outfit was a bit scandalous, the lavender hair, tall frame, and the lush body that the woman possessed made Louise sigh in envy. The only thing she had in common with the enemy in her dreams at the moment was that they both had unusual hair shades. **_

_**As the battle progressed, Louise wondered at the flow of time in her dreams. She couldn't make hide nor hair of the chronology of what she witnessed. Some events seemed to be shown that had events leading up to them omitted. Others followed each other one after another. Maybe she should consult with Shirou about this? Were the dreams something that she put together from her own subconscious, or were they something else?**_

_**As she mused, she watched her Servant get beaten, the strange nails with chains that the enemy wielded cutting into him over and over again, and Louise felt her heart tighten. The dream Shirou wasn't anything like the awake Shirou. The dream Shirou didn't have the overwhelming confidence, the skill that the other had.**_

_**Louise's breath caught in her throat as she finally watched the younger version of her Servant get thrown from the window. **_

_**Before he struck, the ground beneath him flashed a blinding light, the air around it warping.**_

_**And then the girl in blue came forth. As Louise watched, the girl in blue fretted over the wounds that her Master had received. **_

_**And though this scene somehow helped Louise understand the worry that her Servant had shown her earlier when he had dressed her down for getting involved in the battle so recklessly, Louise couldn't help but snort. Her Servant was a hypocrite, it seemed.**_

"Huh even Louise agrees with me he is being hypocritical ." Saber said Rin sighed she hated the fact that Shirou did not think of himself as a human but she accepted it seamed Saber was just figuring out that Shirou was also distorted

**Well this is the newest chapter Im playing with writing styles tell me what you think.**

**Also on why Saber attacked its because of the spell on the laptop with Sabers anti-magic at A rank it can even reduce true magic but it does not choose which part of the spell to negate it is weakening the positive as that is the weaker magic Rin gets the positive magic and because of that she knows her Shirou is different since Saber is negating that part she is treating the hill of swords Shirou as if he was the real one. Also Im not sure but UBW Saber probably does not know about Shirou's "distortion" on top of all that she also dislikes hipocrites and sorry I cannot check about the distortion I got my laptop confiscated I supposedly used it to much I wrote this on a library computer thankfully I can save my progress on my usb.**


	6. The Hill of Swords Chapter Five

In a flash Zelretch appeared "May I speak to you Saber" Seeing that Zelretch was serious Saber walked with him to the corner.

"Saber you should not have attacked Shirou I put spells on the laptop to prevent you from wanting to attack each other" Zelretch said.

"I have an A rank magic dispeller even True magic itself is dispelled." Saber said coldly

"Now let us return to the book" Saber stacked over to Rin and Shirou. Zelretch sighed it did not make much sense but he would try to figure it out. Muttering to himself Zelretch disappeared once more.

**It was the day after the golem incident. Though I had made it a point to properly display my displeasure with Louise's actions last night, I had also made it a point to give her appropriate time to sleep. Honestly, when I thought about it, it was partially my fault as well. I had become too complacent with the generally peaceful aura of the school and allowed myself to slacken in my attentiveness to my duty. We should have had a proper strategy session the day of my duel with Guiche, the moment she came to understand that I would be serving as her sword and shield and not as her butler and maid.**

**I silently strengthened my resolve to act in a more appropriate manner in the future.**

Saber glare became darker as she stared at the computer.

**Nonetheless, it looked like ensuring that Louise got enough sleep to be ready for school had been a bit of a waste. We hadn't even made it to breakfast when the rumor mill reached us, informing us that today was going to be an all day study hall as the teachers all desperately ran around like chickens with their heads cut off, pulling their own hair while trying to decide on whom to place the blame.**

**Except for that one Professor, Professor Colbert. He didn't have any hair in the first place.**

Rin laughed she did not think that Shirou know but in his thoughts he sounded a lot like Archer she know that Shirou was a very sarcastic person but he hid it behind polightness.

**Still, despite the circumstances, it was time for me to put into motion something I had been planning for nearly a week now. I had come to call it 'Operation AHA' in my head.**

**It was midway through the breakfast hour. The students were all busily gossiping away, picking away at their gourmet food with enforced daintiness, and I had already finished my own humble fair in the cafeteria. It went about as it normally did, with me talking freely with Siesta, whom had taken to having breakfast at the same time with me, and the head chef who had discovered that I was a cook of some small talent myself. We had begun to swap recipes, though it seemed as though most of the ingredients and spices that were common in my own style of cooking were less common in this country. A pity. I was reaching the point where I would commit dark and despicable acts for some decent Miso soup and pickled radishes. They didn't even know what a pickle was in this country.**

**Truly. Barbarians.**

Rin and Saber stared in disbelief as Shirou nodded in agreement with his other self.

**Still, I had joined the rest of the familiars, bearing in hand my usual offering of peace for the great bottomless pit which was Sylphid. The dragon clasped her forelimbs together below its head, her wings fluttering behind it in the way Kirche had started fluttering her eyelashes at me whenever she noticed me looking in her direction.**

**Launch Operation AHA.**

**Usually, the way it would go down was that I'd peacefully surrender the squirreled morsel to the beast, and then it would casually collapse on the ground, providing me with a warm back rest to seat myself against while it crooned happily and the two of us waited for our respective Masters. And yes, I would end up sitting against her: any action otherwise would resort in the dragon enforcing my sitting through liberal use of its prodigious size, dexterous limbs, and its ability to completely encircle me at whim in order to deny me escape.**

**These were tactics it used quite liberally against me, and not having the heart to take blade against the adorable creature, I had capitulated and given in to her demands. It would have been like kicking a puppy not to, and for all the fact that I would ruthlessly kill my enemies on the battlefield, I'm still not that blood thirsty as to kick a puppy for no reason.**

All three of them smiled for vastly different reasons, Rin smiled at the fact that he thought of a drake (Rin refused to acknowledge Sylphid as a dragon she thinks Sylphid is a drake) as a puppy. Shirou smiled at the fact that his other self was not blood thirsty enough to kick a puppy. Saber smiled at the fact that Shirou respected dragons.

**Today, however, when Sylphid happily launched her tongue at the large drumstick I was holding, I instead dodged the attack, moving my hand just slightly out of the way. Shocked, Sylphid froze, staring up at me with wide eyes.**

Saber was also looking at the laptop as if it had betrayed her. Before Saber could fly into a rant. Rin glared at her Saber glared back Rin shook her head refusing to admit that she was intimidated. Shirou cleared his throat and pointed at the laptop, Rin picked it up and got back to reading.

**"Sylphid," I said, my voice exaggeratedly remorseful. "I've been a bit worried. It's just, it doesn't seem fair for me to always be sneaking you treats like this while ignoring all the other familiars." I gave an exaggerated wave at the hoard of little beasties that surrounded us. Most of them didn't pay the two of us any attention at all. They were all for the most part easily cared for, receiving more than enough food before hand, and usually took advantage of the time when their masters were eating to sleep off their own meals. If I were to hazard a guess, the only reason Sylphid wasn't in that state herself was because she was just too big to be satisfied by the fare the academy provided. Add on to that the fact that the dragon was big enough to hunt outside on its own, I had reasoned out that the reason she was always so happy to see me, well, besides from my strange and sudden affinity for giant reptiles, was that she knew I always went out of my way to feed her.**

**At my proclamation, Sylphid turned big teary eyes at me. I marshaled my resolve and pressed on with the operation. "It's just, it seems so cruel; to only feed you, never giving the rest a chance to get a little extra as well. It would make you sad if you only saw me feeding another familiar all the time, wouldn't it?" I asked. The dragon reluctantly nodded her head, seeming loathe to part with the opportunity to chow down on the delectable morsel in my hand, but unable to deny the logic I was arguing with. Still throughout it all, Sylphid never took her eye off the drumstick.**

**I began waving it back and forth in front of her nonchalantly, and her head followed it without hesitation, her large black eyes wide and staring.**

**I continued, still taunting the beast in front of me with the bait. "It's because of that, that I decided for today I would give Flame the food instead." A short ways away the salamander perked up from where it was drowsing in the sun at his name. It looked over at me and croaked happily. Sylphid's eyes darted up from the morsel, staring up at me with a betrayed gaze. I made my expression remorseful, and scratched the dragon's eyes. "There there. It's not forever," I cajoled the beast, who was beginning to melt under my fingers, and the eye scratching skills I had developed over the last few weeks. "It's all in the name of fairness. You wouldn't want to make the other familiars jealous, would you?" I asked innocently, and again Sylphid gave me a reluctant shake of her head 'no'.**

**"Well then," I declared cheerfully, stopping all scratching instantly. Sylphid jerked at the sudden absence of my fingers. "I guess I better head over there and give Flame his turn!" I turned away without a second glance, pretending to ignore the way the dragon had started creeping after me, her head jerking around behind me as she tried to get a straight shot at the drumstick I was waving nonchalantly around. "And since I spent a week with you, it's only fair that I spend a week with Flame next, right?" Sylphid froze completely. I continued to walk away, pretending not to notice. "And after that, I should spend a week with all the other familiars! There's only, oh a good hundred and fifty of them," I added, glancing around theoretically. "So it should only take about three years before it's your turn again, Sylphid!" I enthused.**

**Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sylphid's frozen body begin to tremble.**

**"Now then," I crooned, approaching Kirche's salamander. He croaked happily at me, not following the conversation but glad to have me nearby. I began shamelessly scratching his eyes, and dangled the food directly in front of it. It croaked happily, snapping at the drumstick that I casually teased out of reach. Flame seemed to enjoy the game, and was soon cheerfully darting around, the distance between his jaws and the drumstick decreasing which each attempt.**

**A shiver, starting at Sylphid's nose, passed through her body. It traveled like a visible wave down her neck, through her wings, across her back, and ended with her tail thumping rhythmically against the ground. All the while, the dragon's eyes never left the drumstick.**

**Just a little more….**

**"Say, ahhhhh," I told the salamander, and it sat still and opened its mouth, eyes closed as it croaked excitedly. Slowly, I lowered the drumstick into his waiting jaws….**

**"Nooooooo!" a voice behind me called, and I had just enough time to reinforce myself when I was tackled from behind by a ton of desperate blue dragon. "You can't big brother! You can't!"**

Rin gasped out loud "Oh my god it tacks that means in cant be a drake wait a second you took advantage of food to figure out what that dragon is hiding good job Shirou I am so proud of you." While Rin might have been happy with Shirou Saber looked as if someone had stolen her favorite meal and then told her she would never be able to eat again.

**Pinning me from above, with her two forearms on either side of my head, and her entire body above me, back arched like a particularly angry cat, Sylphid desperately shoved her face next to mine. "You can't go away for three years, big brother! Kyui! What will Irukukuu eat? Who will hug and pet Irukukuuu? Kyui, Kyui! No, big brother! Nooooooo!"**

**With a satisfied smirk on my face I pointed up at the dragon and said, "Aha!"**

**Suddenly realizing that she had spoken in front of me, the dragon's eyes widened and it sat back quickly, putting both of her paws in front of her mouth. "Eeep!" she declared frantically, eyes widened.**

**I knew it.**

Rin gushed happy and proud of Shirou Saber on the other hand looked as if she would punch Shirou again. Shirou looked conflicted he was happy Rin was proud of him but Saber looked as if she wanted to deck him.

***Scene Break***

**"Wah!" the great blue dragon cried shamelessly. "I broke my promise with big sister! What was it that big sister said? She said, 'never talk in front of anyone, Irukukuu!' That's what she said! Kyui! And now Irukukuu has talked in front of someone! Big sister will be so mad! Kyuuuuui! Kyui kyui! Wahhhhhh!"**

**"There there," I comforted the dragon. The two of us had departed towards a more secluded part of the courtyard. So far, from what I gathered, Sylphid's real name was Irukukuu, she was a rhyme dragon which was some kind of magically gifted and more intelligent variety of dragon that was thought to be extinct, that Tabitha in order to protect Irukukuu had ordered her never to speak in front of anyone, and that Irukukuu was apparently very young by the standards of her race. "I promise, I won't tell anyone else. It can just be our secret. You don't even have to tell Tabitha about it."**

**Irukukuu peaked out from behind her paws, which she had been rubbing against her eyes as she had wept remorsefully. "Really? You promise?"**

**"Super secret promise," I assured her, speaking as though I would to a small child. Despite the dragon's size, that was precisely what she was after all.**

**Irukukuu's eyes widened at that. "A super secret promise?" she breathed, sounding impressed at just how willing I was to help her keep her secret.**

**"A super secret, ultra promise," I elaborated, nodding solemnly.**

**"Kyui!" she proclaimed, her eyes widening and spreading her wings. "You're the best, big brother!" she then proceeded to hug me thoroughly.**

**"It's no problem," I gasped out. I hadn't had time that time to properly reinforce, and I soon discovered that Irukukuu's zeal for hugs could match and even surpass Louise's zeal for discipline. "Now why don't you let me give you that food I brought?" I desperately tried to avert her attention away from crushing me.**

**"Really?" she said, dropping me unexpectedly, clutching her paws beneath her head as her tail twitched with ecstacy. "You're not going to give it to Flame, or any of the others?"**

**I almost felt bad about this deception. Using the food to maneuver her to break her promise, even if I didn't know about the promise at the time, felt kind of like stealing candy from a baby.**

**"Yes," I assure her, promising in my head to assuage my guilty conscious later by getting the chef to loan me a few nice big juicy fish for the dragon as an apology. "In fact, I'll even promise not to give any of the others food unless I gave you some first."**

**"Yay!" Irukukuu, or I guess I should still call her Sylphid if I'm going to disguise the fact that I figured out her secret, sounded so much like a young girl that it was almost a crime that she wasn't human. If she had been a girl back in Japan such a cheerful and bright child would have been the star of the neighborhood, surrounded by friends. It seemed a shame that she had to conceal her personality in order to protect herself. I promised to try and speak with her more often, if only so that she wouldn't get lonely. Sylphid continued, her paws once more clasped under her chin, and little stars appearing in her big black eyes. "Kyui! You're the best, big brother."**

Saber relaxed looking happy that Shirou would be kind to the baby dragon Rin looked annoyed "Shirou must you always be such a bleeding heart it is going to be taken advantage of" Rin looked away but Shirou was aware that she was smiling.

"Really then why are you smiling Rin" Shirou was also smiling as he said that he usually could not tease Rin as she almost always beat him but this was to good an opportunity to pass up.

**Still, there was such a thing as too adorable. "Sylphid," I spoke up, a little unnerved by just how many of her mannerisms were identical to humans. "Can you make me a promise first?"**

**"Sure, big brother!" she chirped, once more trilling, the soft 'kyui's' ringing melodically through the air.**

**"Can you promise me that you'll never wake me up and tell me I'm late for school?" It would just be too much moe. I'm not sure my brain would be able to take it.**

Rin and Saber gave him the look. Shirou whistled as he looked anyway but at them.

**"Sure, big brother!" Sylphid nodded enthusiastically. "I promise I'll never wake you up and say, 'Big brother! You're going to be late for school! If you don't hurry, you won't have time for breakfast!'" Sylphid nodded her head furiously, her neck rippling behind her again like a cerulean wave. Then she paused and cocked her head at me. "Umm. Big brother, are you okay? Kyui! You look kinda funny all of a sudden…"**

Noise suddenly came form the laptop as they heard **, 'Big brother! You're going to be late for school! If you don't hurry, you won't have time for breakfast!'" **Shirou fell hitting his head on the floor twitching Saber got ready to beat him up but noticed Rin was also on the floor twitching in union they said "too much moe" Saber hit her head with her hand. Zelretch fell out of a wall rolling around in laughter Saber growled at him and then turned her head up at him. Shirou and Rin got up blushing and refused to look at anyone Zelretch was still snickering as he said "Oh gods I am so happy I brought you here to see different universes, your reactions are priceless." With that Zelretch collapsed laughing once more. Saber started reading from the laptop once more.

**By Heaven's Feel. She even got the part about breakfast. She was a born natural for the little sister role… The sheer adorableness of it had actually struck my brain like a physical assault. I hadn't been this numb since the time I accidentally over worked my magic circuits and spent a few days stroked out and incapable of feeling anything in my left side. It was only through the fact that I wasn't a 'little sister-con' that I had managed to preserve myself in front of that assault.**

**"Thank you, Sylphid," I managed to get out weakly, unable to point out that she had just broken her promise while she was making it. I was exceedingly thankful that the dragon wasn't able to take human form. Since she's so young by dragon standards, she'd probably come out looking like a little ten year old girl. I don't think there was a force in this world that could resist that line if it was delivered by an appropriate child. "It makes me very glad for you to have promised that."**

Saber glared at Shirou "It looks like your older self can stand it" Shirou looked down blushing that was so not fair his older self was much more conposed.

***Scene Break***

**"Why are you here, anyway?" Louise ground out, glaring at the tall buxom girl beside her.**

**"This looks way more interesting then study hall," Kirche smirked back. On the other side of Louise, Tabitha stood, looking strangely out of place without a book in her hand. From behind my Master, I regarded the rest of the room absently. I had made a near complete recovery from Sylphid's weapon grade cuteness, but there are some things you just don't get over immediately.**

**The four of us stood standing at attention in the office of the headmaster, whom looked like he had been taking fashion tips from Gandalf: long unkempt beard and hair, gray flowing robes, and a staff. His very presence spoke of austere power, and wise grace. Well, it spoke of it for as long as it took me to notice the mouse dart out from under his robe and start shamelessly taking advantage that the distraction of our presence provided to start peeking up the skirt of the attractive secretary standing at attention beside him.**

Saber glared at the computer "Disgusting and he is the headmaster."

**"After extensive investigation," the wizard spoke, "Ms. Longueville has managed to acquire information on the thief, Fouquet," he began, taking charge of the meeting. Arrayed around the room were a number of wizards and witches, the instructors of the academy. The males wore green cloaks over blue robes, while the women wore purple cloaks over blue robes, as well as matching pointy hats.**

**I thought the uniforms looked ridiculous and impractical, but then again, I've noticed most school uniforms were ridiculous and impractical.**

**The old man had been continuing while I observed the surroundings, but it looked like it was more out of an effort to buy the mouse, his familiar I assumed, time to make a proper lap of the gathered females, peeking carefully under each robe and apparently making gestures that indicated something to the old man. Even as he carefully noted each gesture the mouse made, the headmaster unfurled a scroll.**

**"Young Tabitha, young Ms. Valliere," he proclaimed solemnly. "Was this the thief you witnessed yesterday?"**

**My eyes narrowed and I couldn't stop my lips from curling slightly when I saw the profile on the roll of parchment. Louise answered. "Yes, this is Fouquet. There is no mistake." It didn't bother me that I had been left out of the list of those being asked. In their eyes I was just a familiar, and thus below their notice. The only one who wasn't dismissing me out of hand was the old man himself, and the secretary, a Ms. Longueville I assumed. The old man had sharp eyes, taking note of everything in the room even as his familiar continued to make a lap. The secretary appeared to be regarding me out of simple curiosity.**

**As the old man continued talking, condemning the actions of the thief while declaring the responsibility of the academy to recover the stolen item, some strange relic called 'the Staff of Destruction', I kept one eye on the mouse. It had made nearly a complete lap of the room, and was even now finishing staring up Kirche's skirt. When it started to move on to its last two targets, I made my move.**

**Gently, so as not to hurt it, just too pin it, I shifted my foot so that it came down on the mouse's tail just as it was about to reach viewing distance of Louise's undergarments. It almost squeaked in surprise but managed to stop itself before giving away its position. Displaying a remarkable ability to multi-task, even as the old man called for volunteers to hunt down the thief, his eyes darted to mine and widened barely.**

**Noticing her boss' actions, the Longueville followed his eyes and glanced down. When she noticed the captured mouse, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed in displeasure.**

**Under the frightened eyes of the mouse, I glanced once at Louise, once at Tabitha, and then shook my head barely. I would protect my Master's dignity as was appropriate, and Tabitha's because it was polite considering what I had done to her familiar earlier, even if she didn't know it, but I was under no other obligation to protect anyone else's. When I released its tail, the familiar seemed to get the message and darted away, pausing once or twice more under what was apparently the more memorable garments on its way back to its master.**

Saber gasped "SHIROU YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR NOT DEFENDING THE REST OF THEIR HONOUR."

Shirou sighed "I am sure my older self wants to avoid trouble so he is trying to avoid offending the headmaster she has power over Louise after all."

**The old man smiled almost imperceptibly at that, the look Longueville gave me seemed vaguely aggrieved. I've no doubt that she had had…encounters…with that mouse in the past. I gave a small unrepentant shrug. Not my problem.**

**"What's wrong?" the old man proclaimed, looking a little disapointed. His skills at multi-tasking were indeed great. He had managed to complete his speech and ask for volunteers without once giving away the little drama that had unfolded right underneath the noses of the rest without anyone realizing it except for his secretary. "Is there no noble here willing to gain fame through the capture of the thief who has stolen this castle's treasure and devastated the nearby countryside?"**

**Hmm? I knew about the theft, but the countryside too?**

**The bald man standing opposite the secretary on the other side of headmaster coughed. "It hasn't been proven that Fouquet was really responsible for the destruction. Why would a thief destroy a hill?"**

**Destroy a hill? What the…**

**Ah. Oops.**

Shirou gasped and than started laughing Rin looked puzzled for a few seconds before her mind made the connection and she started laughing as well. Saber looked puzzled for ten seconds before she gave a gasp of surprise remembering Shirou letting loose Cadablog 2.

**I broke into a small sudden coughing fit at that news. Most of the room ignored the noise as the ill-mannered background noise of a familiar, but Louise's eyes darted back to me, looking upset at my interruption. Well, partially upset. She also looked like she was coming to a decision. When her eyes met mine, she seemed to resolve herself and turned back to the headmaster who was looking put out by the lack of volunteers.**

**Without another word, Louise raised her wand and volunteered our services. "My Servant and I will go!" I let myself smile at that both at the volunteer and my inclusion in the declaration. Looks like we were going to take another shot at Fouquet.**

**"I as well!" Kirche chimed in. Louise glared at the taller redhead, apparently unhappy at having someone else trying to steal her thunder. I didn't blame her. I didn't much relish the thought of having someone else along to witness my skills either. Kirche smirked at the smaller girl, and then noticed something behind Louise that seemed to startle her. "Tabitha?" she asked, sounding surprised. The blue haired girl had lifted a wand as well. I was surprised she even had a wand. She usually seemed to use her staff for spell casting. "You don't have to go," Kirche offered, not sounding insulting like she usually did when she spoke to Louise. I'm still not sure what the deal between those two were but the busty redhead and the petite bluette seemed to have a very strong bond nonetheless.**

**"I worry for you three," the blue haired girl said softly. I was actually sort of touched that I was included in the list.**

**The headmaster gave a small proud smile. "Then let us count on you three," and just like that I was out of the count again. "Miss Tabitha, who despite her youth already bears the title of Chevalier." The title seemed to shock Louise and Kirche, though I had no idea what a chevalier was supposed to be. "Furthermore, Miss Zerbst, who is of a Germanian family well noted for their skills and powers, a wielder of powerful flame magic in her own right." Kirche puffed up her chest at that. And when Kirche puffs out her chest, that's a lot of chest that's getting puffed.**

**The old man turned towards my Master and I, and Louise closed her eyes, standing proudly. "And finally, Miss Valliere," he started to trail off a bit, pausing in between words as he chose them carefully. "Who is the daughter of the Valliere family, also well known for having produced several outstanding mages," left unsaid was that Louise wasn't considered one of them, "and, well, how shall I put this…" he trailed off, desperately searching for a compliment that would be appropriate. Louise wilted. As the old man's eyes darted about the room, looking for inspiration, they came to rest on me. "Ah! That's right. Her familiar is a remarkable swordsman that overwhelmed even General Gramont's son, Guiche Gramont." As though that was really anything worth noting.**

**"That's right," the balding instructor proclaimed, sounding like an excited kid. "That's right! He's the legendary gan…" he got out before seeming to realize he was about to say something he shouldn't and cutting himself off. I eyed him carefully. He noticed my gaze and turned his head, embarrassed about something.**

**I narrowed my eyes. He knew something.**

Rin once more looked proud that Shirou had already discovered that.

**"Please allow me to guide the students to the appropriate location," Ms. Longueville declared, suddenly stomping her foot. The onlookers seemed to believe that it was meant to emphasize his proclamation. I realized that she had been aiming for the mouse who was trying to sneak another peak up her skirt.**

**Still, business first. I leaned toward my Master's ear whispering my question there. I'd ask myself, but I had the feeling Louise was still feeling prickly about the trouble the headmaster had had in coming up with a suitable compliment, so I figured I'd handle this in a way which would let her save some face. If appearing deferential would help protect her pride, then it was no skin of my nose.**

**Louise turned her head, catching my movement and looking curious as to why I would interrupt the solemn moment. When I whispered my request, her eyes widened, but then her eyes briefly closed as she understood the reason behind my question.**

**"Headmaster," she spoke up suddenly, drawing attention back to the two of us. We must have made something of a sight, my own taller frame directly behind her shorter one, her face solemn, and mine purposefully kept blank of all expression. "My Servant wishes to know if there are any preferences in the thief's condition when they are apprehended."**

**The question was worded formally, but it seemed to confuse the gathered faculty. "Preferences?" the headmaster repeated, his brow furrowed as he tried to divine just what I had meant when I passed on my inquiry to my Master.**

**"To clarify, so long as the Staff of Destruction is recovered, it does not matter if the thief is dead or maimed, right?" Louise said bluntly.**

**That raised a clamor from the gathered faculty. Even Kirche let out a "Huh?" eying me in surprise. The only ones not shocked by my ruthlessness were Louise and Tabitha. That was probably because they were the only two who realized I actually had the skills necessary to carry off either feat, and the willingness to do both.**

Rin smiled coldly while Saber looked indifferent Shirou on the other hand gulped.

**In response to their disbelief, I graced them all with a cold little smile. It didn't seem to comfort them.**

***Scene Break***

**"It was a completely justified question," I defended with a dignified air.**

**"It was blood thirsty and crude," Louise huffed, her arms folded as she sat beside me. We were in a wagon, and sitting across from us were Kirche and Tabitha. At the reins Longueville clucked gently as she urged the horses drawing our little rundown carriage forward. Above us Sylphid flew, accompanying her own master in the air. We hadn't been able to find a spot for Flame, and considering the effect that fire was likely to have on rock we decided to let the salamander stay at home and rest.**

**"But still justified," I asserted. "Depending on how this goes we might end up in combat. It's better to know at the beginning just what is considered acceptable damage so that we can adjust our tactics accordingly."**

**"I know, I know," Louise finally relented. She leaned back, looking up at the sky with a troubled expression. "I just wish you could have found a more discreet way of bringing it up."**

**"I prefer direct," I admit. I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "I'm good at direct."**

Rin groaned while Shirou smiled happily Saber gave the computer a look that no one could identify.

**"Mmmm," Kirche finally broke in. "I can think of a few ways you could use that talent at directness, Darling," she coaxed me, leaning forward so that her cleavage nearly burst out of her shirt. She sent me one of the flirtatious looks that seemed to wrap every other boy in the academy around her fingers, expecting it to have the same effect on me.**

**"I thank you for your offer, Miss Zerbst," I responded politely, "but am afraid that I must decline at this time."**

**"Mou," she sighed, leaning back and fanning her flushed cheeks. "I've never had someone play so coy with me. I didn't realize it would make me this hot," she breathed, sounding sultry. She played lightly with the hem of her skirt, teasing it up and down her thigh. I noticed. It would be hard not to. But with great effort I managed to drag my gaze upwards and away from temptation.**

Rin and Saber both looked happy with this while Shirou gulped and prayed that his future self would never sub comb to his desires he did not want to run from Rin and Saber.

**"You know," Louise pointed out stiffly, "You didn't have to come. My Servant and I would have been enough for this." She really was annoyed that what was supposed to be her triumphant display of prowess had been effectively high jacked by the other redhead.**

**I leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You know, sometimes accidents happen on a battlefield. If you really want me to, I could arrange…"**

**She cut me off in a whisper of her own. "There will be no killing of my classmates." Her tone when giving me that order was resigned. Apparently she remembered my offer to aid in revolt and had decided to accept these offers as simply ways that I attempted to show my service to her.**

**My answer back surprised her. "Then shall I consider these three as allies, or simply a third party?"**

**My question caused her to cock her head to the side. Kirche had been trying to lean forward discreetly, attempting to invade the privacy of our speech. "Is there a difference?" Louise asked, her voice a little louder then she intended.**

**Tabitha interrupted, not looking up from the book she was reading. "Allies? Third party?" her quiet voice indicated that she had heard every word the two of us said. I think she might have been using a wind spell for that. Tricky girl. She definitely had talent.**

Rin looked extremely proud that Shirou understood magic that well.

**"Third parties are people I don't have to worry about getting caught in my attacks," I respond bluntly, not bothering to try and conceal the conversation anymore. "Allies are those I would actively protect."**

**"You actually make a distinction between the two?" Kirche asked, seeming eager to get any insight into my personality. It would make her planned seductions more effective I assume.**

**"Yes," I responded plainly. "I have a number of ways to categorize people. So far I have the entire school in the 'potential enemy' list. I admit, it would make things a bit easier if I could move a few out of that list."**

**Even Longueville turned back to stare at me at that statement.**

**"And what is the 'potential enemy' list?" Louise asked, her voice dry.**

**"The list of people I wouldn't hesitate to kill if they made a threatening move," I explain.**

**The silence in the cart reigned, and I began to worry that Longueville might run us off the road if she didn't turn an eye to it soon.**

**"And why," Louise finally said, sounding strained, "is the entire school in this 'potential enemy' list of yours?" She sounded like she was trying very hard to understand my reasoning, but was falling short, and starting to hit that borderline of hers when her hand starts unconsciously itching towards anything she can use to bash the person who had irritated her.**

**"My home land is very different from this one," I defended myself. "How am I supposed to know all the customs of a completely foreign country over night?" I waved at Kirche. "You've said yourself that your two families have been feuding for centuries. I had no idea if you were suddenly going to decide to end that feud by having me kill her in her sleep, or if you had any other students that you'd want me to do the same too."**

**"That makes sense," Kirche nodded thoughtfully at my explanation, as though I hadn't just admitted to having been perfectly willing to murder her in her repose. Tabitha simply nodded once, the only sign that she was sparing any attention from her book to the conversation.**

**Louise tried to mount a convincing counter argument, and raised one finger in the air as she prepared to deliver it, paused, and finally deflated. "Please feel free to move everyone in the school to your 'third party' list," she sighed, simply excepting my quirk without further question. "And everyone here is to be put in your ally list as well."**

**"That will make things less complicated," I admit. A bit harder too, though. Now I had to actively try and defend the strange duo and the accompanying secretary. The secretary who finally realized that she should be paying attention to the road in time to jerk the horses back onto the beaten down trail we were following before they could hit the gully they were about to walk into.**

**Longueville interrupted from the front again. "So do you have other lists?" she seemed curious by my insistence on mentally dividing up the people around me into various levels of hostility. "Fouquet for instance, which list are they on? Something like 'definite enemy', kill on sight?"**

**"Yes, Fouquet was on that list earlier," I admitted. "Now she's on the 'the one that got away' list."**

**"'The one that got away?'" It was Longuevilles turn to cock her head to the side, little question marks appearing above her head. "What does that mean?"**

**"I hate the ones that get away," I explained casually. "It's my policy to kill the enemy on the first encounter. If they get away, it means they then have some experience fighting me, and it's always harder to kill the enemy once they have some experience. In order to counter that, I generally have to up the viciousness of my attacks. I generally prefer to aim for maiming shots first instead of instant kills like I use on 'definitie enemies'. It's easier to limit their mobility or offense abilities by disarming or dislegging them before I decapitate them." My use of the word 'dislegging' seemed to unnerve Longueville. I stand by my belief that it was a perfectly viable word. After all, it's an appropriate counterpart to disarming, and when I disarm someone I generally don't mean their weapons.**

Shirou once more looked slightly unnerved while Saber and Rin smiled at the fact that he would maim fist and kill later.

**"I'm glad to hear that," Louise told me flatly, rubbing her head as though she had a headache.**

**"But the change in status does raise some other questions," I tell her, showing no mercy for the brain pain I had most likely been responsible for. "Since I now have to worry about not accidentally killing anyone else, it might be a good time for a strategy session." Oh how I both equally loved and hated those words: strategy session. Some of my fondest memories came from strategy sessions. And some of my worst. The best came from the company I kept while making them, and the worst from the fact that we usually only had to have them when we were hopelessly out gunned and in a desperate situation.**

Rin and Saber both smiled happy that he would always enjoy their companies.

**"Oh Darling!" Kirche proclaimed, completely ignoring my attempt to iron out a plan. Instead, she threw herself across the seat so that she could embrace me firmly, planting my face into her breasts without a hint of remorse. "Now that you no longer have to worry about killing me, we can finally be together!"**

**"Mmph, mmph mph mph," I pointed out. I didn't even bother to try and make actual words. It's not like anyone would have been able to understand them with my face stuck firmly in the valley between those two mountains. Though the pointed gesture I made seemed to get my point across.**

**"On second thought," Louise ground out, that little stunt pushing her past the 'hand unconsciously itching' phase and straight into the 'wand grasped firmly in shaking fist' phase, "feel free to keep Kirche in the 'potential enemy' list."**

**"Oh pooh," Kirche proclaimed, not releasing me at all or showing even the faintest hint of an inclination to do so. "Don't stand between our love, little girl." She angled enough that I was once more able to see things that weren't jiggling so she could smirk down at the little pink haired girl.**

**"A wagon heading off to apprehend a thief with no regard to what they destroy is no place for love," Louise ground out, her hand twitching as she restrained herself from pointing the wand in her grip from the red head who had wrapped herself around me like an octopus. "Especially not when the Master of one of those supposed 'lovers' is present, and even more so when that 'lover' already has a real lover waiting for him!"**

**"Thank you, Master," I said, honestly touched that one of the reasons she was getting so angry about this situation was because she knew my feelings on the subject.**

**The day after Kirche had first made a move on me with her lizard partner, Louise had asked me if what I had said about having a lover was true, or just an excuse to get the amorous fire user off my back. When I had confirmed that I really did have someone I was waiting for, she had dedicated herself completely in helping me fend off Kirche.**

**I think a part of that might have had to do with the fact that the whole Valliere/Zerbst feud originating over a Zerbst stealing a Valliere fiancé some centuries ago.**

**"No regards for what they destroy?" Longueville spoke up suddenly. Three heads turned to regard the one driving the carriage. One more stayed buried in a book. "What makes you say that this Fouquet has no regards for what they destroy?" She sounded curious, and a little worried.**

**"Didn't the headmaster say something about a hill?" Kirche spoke up, sounding confused about why it should matter. We were going to catch a villain. The exact extent of their villainy was irrelevant; all that mattered was that we were going to catch them in her mind.**

**I suddenly had trouble covering up another coughing fit. No one seemed to notice.**

**"But why would a thief go out of their way to destroy a hill?" Longueville argued, sounding tense. She appeared worried about the potential violence that we were all about to immerse ourselves in.**

**"Well," I said, trying to move the conversation along, "There's no way to know the mind of a thief like that. The best thing to do is to just prepare ourselves as best we can and hope for the best…"**

**Tabitha interrupted me. "Your attack," she said softly, turning a page. Kirche and Louise turned to the bluette, and Longueville perked her ear up, half turning her head so she could hear the conversation more clearly while still keeping an eye on the road. Her last close call seemed to have corrected her potential driving handicap.**

**"Who's attack?" Kirche asked, puzzled by her comrades behavior. Louise seemed to understand what Tabitha had been pointing out, and turned to look at me directly.**

**"What about Shirou's attack?" she asked. She seemed to recall my coughing fit from earlier, as well as the one from the headmaster's office, and her eyes narrowed as she began to form a suspicion.**

**"Well," I hedged slightly. "It's entirely possible that the hill might have been my fault," I finally acknowledged.**

**Kirche's eyes widened. "And how could a destroyed hill have been your fault? You're just a swordsman," she declared, already brushing off my reluctant confession.**

**Tabitha and Louise, on the other hand didn't.**

**"Shirou," Louise said slowly. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"**

**"No?" I tried, not really expecting it to work. Louise's eyes narrowed, and I finally caved. "Well, the attack I used on Fouquet was particularly potent," I admitted, and Louise's eyes stopped narrowing and took a speculative look instead. She was no doubt recalling what I had explained last night. "When I launched it, the golem had its hand up. It wasn't enough to stop my attack, but it was enough to deflect it."**

**"Missed," Tabitha interjected. Louise seemed to perk at that word, remembering my own haranguing from last night about her aim. She turned a sly smile at me. Kirche just seemed lost on the subject of how I could possibly have an attack that was so devastating when I was just a commoner.**

**"Blocked," I corrected with great dignity. "Anyway, it blocked high, so the attack went over its head and past the castle walls. And," I paused sheepishly, "just because it missed the target didn't mean it didn't hit anything else."**

**"Your attack destroyed a hill by accident?" Longueville asked plainly. She seemed a little unnerved by that. "How?"**

**I turned a gaze at Louise. She seemed to be silently gloating at my predicament. I ignored it. I also ignored the question. Answering it would reveal more about my capabilities then I was comfortable giving away, especially to those who had no obligation to help me conceal it, or any real idea just how important to me it was to keep it concealed.**

**"Go on, Servant," Louise ordered. She on the other hand didn't want me to conceal it. She'd lived her whole life with the shroud of failure hanging over her head. Now that she had a chance to prove that her talent was there, just waiting to be discovered, she was eager to show it off. Especially in front of a girl who went out of the way to harass her at every possible opportunity.**

**I narrowed my eyes. It was an order I wanted to refuse. But it wasn't an unreasonable order either. Before, they had been potential enemies. Now that my Master had allied herself with them, even if she didn't realize just how much regard I held for allies, explaining my skills to them was not outside the scope of acceptable actions.**

Saber smiled happy that he know how to hide his skills. Along with when to show them.

**I might not be willing to display my skills to complete strangers for a prize, but for allies who would soon fight beside me on the battlefield? That was another matter completely.**

**With a sigh, I obeyed my Master's orders. "Though the culture of my homeland is different in that magical talent is not equated with the social hierarchy, I myself am capable of magic." With a firm tone I admitted. "I am a magi."**

***Scene Break***

**"No traps," Tabitha reported as she waved her wand.**

**"No magical traps," I retorted calmly. Tabitha nodded her response to my correction and stepped back. This was the method we had chosen to use as we investigated the suspicious shack from the reports. After the revelation of my abilities, the resulting strategy session had progressed smoothly enough.**

**It pretty much boiled down to the fact that the only ones there with experience with actual conflict were Tabitha and I. My own past as a swordsman and a participant in some truly unsettling conflicts combined with the fact that Tabitha had been a Chevalier for years now and had almost as much battle experience as I led the two of us being paired together for the initial reconnaissance. I had discovered in the following conversation that the title Chevalier was a means of denoting a level of accomplishment and ability in person, noble or not. It was a title that meant the holder had completed some task of great skill and ability in the past. 'Chevalier' was a title of skill that couldn't be bought, only earned.**

**That raised my estimation of the blue haired girl significantly. I knew she was a tough cookie from before, but that kind of distinction was a whole other matter. It made me a little relieved that she had been moved to allied status.**

**So the end result of the rather abrupt planning was that I went in first, checking the place by all means I had in my possession. The rest of the group had decided that my experience with both magic and mundane methods of combat made me a good general judge of the area. After I initial cleared the site, Tabitha would move forward, checking for more subtle magic means of protection. Regardless of my own experience, I just didn't have the skill to properly clear the site completely.**

**When Kirche had discovered that despite the fact that I could use magic that I had no talent in it, she had burst out laughing. "The Zero familiar of the Zero Louise," had been her exact taunt.**

**When I explained to her that I was merely overly specialized, she had laughed harder. That stopped when I put a sword to her throat. Strictly for the purpose of displaying what my specialty was.**

Rin smiled happy that Shirou would develop pride while Shirou looked unnerved at the fact that he would have that much pride.

**The fact that I never bothered to draw Derflinger in the process of putting the sword against her impressed upon her just what my specialty was. Kanshou really did seem to be finding a lot of necks lately.**

**I also took the opportunity to point out the end result of every attempt Louise had ever made to cast a spell. Once the pattern of 'explosion' was discovered, Kirche had decided that having Louise in a safe distance from the battle and chanting constantly was a decent plan. The end result of our impromptu strategy session was that Kirche and my Master were both safely positioned upon Tabitha's familiar and several hundred feet in the air. There they would be able to keep an eye on the conflict, supply covering fire as needed, and in the case of a catastrophic failure go for help and report on the situation.**

**That left just me and Tabitha on ground. That suited me fine. Now that I could officially work together with the blue haired girl, I was finding the experience to truly be a treasure. She was quiet, quick, not given to complaining, and very efficient. I found myself adapting to her presence on the operation easily, and trusting in her judgment without reservation.**

**It was always a pleasure to work with a professional.**

**After Tabitha had cleared the door of the apparently abandoned shack for magic protection, I kicked it open fiercely, and darted in, low to the ground to avoid any potential mundane traps. Since most booby traps tended to target the head and torso, I was hoping to avoid them from below if they existed. The other types of traps target the lower legs to restrict mobility, so I had reinforced my ankle and calves in order to counter that measure. It turned out to be a pointless maneuver. Nothing waited for me in there besides a whole lot of dust.**

**A low whistle was the all clear sign, and Tabitha joined me in the room. Wordlessly we split up each of us taking a side and beginning our search. The blue haired girl seemed to be enjoying my own professionalism as well, and moved with a quick efficiency that she generally didn't use when at school.**

**It only took us a minute to find the box containing the Staff of Destruction.**

**This was too easy. I could only think of two reasons why a thief would abandon something that they had worked so hard to acquire. The first was that I had injured them more than I thought on our first encounter and they had ditched the goods so they could move faster to a safe location and heal up.**

**The second was…**

**A loud roar from outside was Sylphid's signal that hostiles had approached while we had our senses limited from being enclosed in the building. The view out the front door had been covered by rock. I could hazard a guess just what the rocks were.**

**Yup. It's a trap all right.**

**Tabitha's eyes met mine, an unasked question on what to do. Mine darted from hers to a window, and she nodded once. I went first, throwing myself through the glass pane, my body reinforced to keep the shards from cutting any deeper then my clothes, and Tabitha came afterwards, moving quicker than I thought she could as she exited through the now cleared portal.**

**Sure enough we got out of there just in time as the eight ton fist of the hundred foot tall golem came crashing down on the building we had just been in, ruthlessly destroying everything inside.**

**"Move," I ordered flatly, and Tabitha nodded even as she was already fleeing. When our small group had finally gotten around to strategizing, the ones we had come up with were pretty simple. It mostly consisted of having me, the one with a sword that had already proven myself perfectly capable of surviving in a face to face battle with the behemoth stay on the ground and concentrate on doing just that: surviving. The three girls, who were by nature quite a bit more delicate than me would then retreat to a safe distance on the dragon and concentrate on doing what spell casters should do: rain down unholy destruction upon their foes. Longueville had volunteered to do the long range scouting, and was out of sight right now, circling the area and searching for the thief.**

**It was a direct strategy. I like direct.**

**I moved to place myself between the golem and the small girl, but it turned out that I didn't need to. The golem didn't even bother trying to chase the retreating mage. Apparently the caster responsible remembered my sincere attempt to kill them earlier and also apparently held a grudge for that teensy little fact.**

**The end result was that the golem was on me like Guiche on girls.**

**"Well then, Derflinger," I said, my hand closing on the hilt slung over my shoulder. "This time, for real."**

**"Aye, partner," the sword spoke up, the first time since we started out on this expedition that it had done so. "Let's see what we can do!"**

**The magical talking blade made good on its promise. When the golem threw its first blow at me, I attempted to duplicate my earlier feet. I darted past it, prepping myself for a quick pass at its wrist. The golem was simply too massive for me to target directly, and beside that it had no real internal organs or weak points for me to aim at. The most I could do was cut it down piece by piece. Unfortunately the caster directing the animate statue remembered this trick. Even as I darted past the wrist and adjusted my aim, a massive rock foot came closing at me.**

**This was why I hated the ones that got away.**

**Faced with several more tons of rubble coming at me, I abandoned my attempt at the creature's hand, and instead targeted the new limb that was attacking me. Simply upping my speed, I spurred past the kicking leg, sinking my blade into the new limb and cutting fast and hard. The foot was much thicker then the arm was, and I didn't have nearly as high a percent of it cut as I did with the wrist by the end of the strike. It would take at least two passes to cut away at it enough for me to get it off the body. When the giant completed its attack, it came down on the limb, and I discarded the idea of hacking the limb away. Even if I reduced its connection to a flap, the sheer weight of the beast resting on the limb was too much for me to sway. Already the wound I had inflicted was regenerating, the gaps between the stones filling with dirt and mending.**

**Another roar penetrated the air. Tabitha had regained Sylphid, and that was the signal that the three of them were preparing an attack. I'd been explained that the longer the incantation the more powerful the spell. Since it had been established that the best of the three when it came to shear percussive damage was my Master, she had been elected to cast. Seeing as how the exact spell she cast was irrelevant, she had chosen the most powerful attack spell she knew, the 'fireball' she had attempted to cast last time.**

**That meant my role in this conflict was to keep the golem busy till I received the next signal.**

**It was both a challenging and easy task. It was easy because the golem seemed very dedicated to squashing me like a bug. It didn't even bother to try and close in on the three girls, nor look for anyway to attack them in the sky. It was challenging, because like I mentioned the golem seemed VERY dedicated to squashing me like a bug.**

Rin smiled sadly it sounded just like Shirou to do this yet right now he did not have Saber or herself to back him up.

**It appears the caster responsible definitely was holding a grudge over my attempt to drill a hole through them.**

**It became a desperate game of keep away between me and the golem. It would flail at me relentlessly, using all four of its limbs and its massive body to try and smash me in any way it could. It was clumsy, but it managed to keep itself moving enough that I was forced back on the defensive.**

**Deciding that this could end up being a prolonged battle, I limited myself on my reinforcement. Trusting in the strange speed and strength that filled me while the runes glowed on my hand, I turned all my effort on staying out of reach of its massive bludgeons.**

**As the sweat began to pour down my face, I finally heard it: Sylphid's roar once more echoed. They were ready.**

**Using the squirreled away strength I had preserved for the occasion, I reinforced my legs as best I could, boosted my speed to the level that made it nearly impossible for me to be caught by the slow thing, I turned around and ran like hell.**

**Ice bloomed on the golem's legs, locking them briefly and arresting its movements. Simultaneously, flame splashed along the creatures head, covering the location on its deformed top that looked like eye sockets. I glanced up and in front and saw Sylphid hovering, for once looking as fierce and as dangerous as a dragon should. Tabitha had gestured with her large staff, and Kirche was laying flat beside her aiming her wand. These attacks were meant to limit the mobility and potentially blind the target.**

**Louise, standing as tall as her slight frame could reach, with her eyes clenched shut, held her wand in front of her chanting while the wind of her flight throwing her long pink hair billowing around her like a fiery halo. Her eyes finally snapped open and I could see her mouth move, even if I couldn't hear it over the distance. "Fireball!" she proclaimed.**

**Last time she had cast this spell, I had asked her where she had been aiming. When she admitted that she had been trying to target the golems head, I told her to start aiming at center mass until we could properly hone her targeting ability. She did so this time.**

**She still missed her target, but when one of the golem's massive arms spontaneously erupted in a flameless explosion, severing it at the shoulder, I decided that I could work with that.**

**Still, that meant that the destruction of the creature was now entirely on me. When I had been getting my briefing on the limits of her spell craft Louise had also confided that mages of this world were also limited in the number of times they could cast higher level magic. It depended strongly on the willpower and experience of the caster on how much they could cast. Seeing as my Master was still young and inexperienced, I had put the limit on one major spell for battle. I didn't want to risk burning her out any more than that. Because of that I had insisted that the three would only get one chance at this. If it failed, the three were to retreat as fast as they could, reporting on the conflict and drawing necessary reinforcements.**

**Seeing as we had already recovered the stolen item, this was an even more appropriate strategy.**

**However, this left me alone to face the construct and either buy enough time for them to be safely away before fleeing myself, or destroy it completely on my own.**

**As the dragon began to arch away, I shifted Derflinger to my left hand, and held out my right. I had already chosen an appropriate sword for fighting something like this.**

**"I am the bone of my sword," I chanted.**

**Trace on.**

Shirou smiled eagerly as he leaned forward he very much wanted to know what his future self would use he had also ran thorough the blades he had and picked one he was curious if his oldre self would pick the same one.

**A massive great sword formed in my hand. Nearly twice the size of long sword it was etched quite extensively with a dark waving pattern. It was Hrunting, the sword which fails against that which is protected. Wielded by Beowulf against the mother of Grendel, it was a sword which would never fail to cut what it was swung at be it stone or flesh so long as it was unprotected by magic. Even the weakest of protection spells would cause the blade to fail.**

**The thing in front of me wasn't protected by magic. It was merely created by it.**

**"Hey, partner," Derflinger called out as I sheathed it. "Fighting with another sword already? We were doing so well together!"**

**"I know," I assure the blade. "I just need something with a longer reach for this."**

**"Ha! Well, you know you're steel," the talking sword allowed, and fell silent in its sheath. I could feel its readiness though. If Hrunting failed, then it knew I would draw it once more. It was content to wait with the patience of the steel from which it was formed.**

**Once more, I closed with the behemoth. Now one armed, it was having trouble keeping itself upright. The sheer loss of weight on one side was enough to throw its balance completely out the window. This was double edged for me. On one hand, its ability to coordinate attacks was greatly reduced. The loss of a limb completely reduced the vectors of attack by a quarter, and the loss of weight meant that large swinging blows would send it off balance, opening it further. On the other hand, now the thing would stumble, an action which I couldn't predict from experience. At any moment it could trip, completely change its angle of attack and strike me on accident.**

**Staying out of reach as best I could, I began chipping away at the fist that was swung at me. It would be too dangerous to get in close and attempt a single removing strike on the last fist. Instead, I focused my efforts on shaving away at it. With the superior edge of Hrunting I was able to meet each strike at me with a strike of my own, twisting out of way and carving pieces of knuckle and finger off it with each attack. Sweat dripped freely down my face now, the only sign that I was exerting myself.**

**The lightness of the magic of the runes was truly effective. If I had been relying on my own circuits I would have had to call something more destructive than Hrunting, seeking to end the mismatch between the two of us with simple overwhelming power rather than taking the opportunity to conserve my power and draw the fight out.**

Shirou smiled slightly jealous that the runes were improving his combat style so much.

**Naturally, at the point where I had begun to get semi-optimistic about the surety of this fight, the dumb thing went and did exactly what I was worried about: it tripped.**

**It swung desperately across its body, and I had finally managed to carve one of its fingers off completely, when it its whole body began to pitch forward. Without the weight of its other arm behind it, it had moved beyond its center of gravity. Due to the position of its swing, I almost didn't see its tumble until it was too late. If I darted backwards there was no way of knowing how far it would roll, so I would have no choice but to separate from it, and I didn't want to do that. I was worried if I gave it too long, it might begin to regenerate the loss of pieces that I had been building up on it. Still, with no other choice, I once more sprang backwards repeatedly, putting several hundred feet between me and it as quick as I could, once more using reinforcement to force my already unnaturally quick body backwards even faster. I was glad I did. The giant thing rolled for nearly seventy five feet itself before it lost its momentum, flailing the entire time.**

**By now the girls were probably far enough away. It might be wiser to simply withdraw myself. With my Master safe and the stolen good recover, the only other reason to stay here was to find Fouquet and kill the thief. If they had any brains at all, they would have already recognized that their prize was lost and high tailed it out of there themselves, leaving the golem to run its course and delay pursuit. I was loathed to admit it, but it looked like this one would be the one that kept getting away…**

**My thoughts were interrupted by a voice I really didn't want to hear.**

**"Shirou!" Louise called. What the hell was she doing here! Hadn't we gone over the whole 'don't get on the battlefield' aspect the last time I had to protect her from a giant weapon of mass destruction! I whirled on my Master, the heat of battle making my anger sharp and prepared to let her know just how troubling I found this developing trend to be when I froze.**

**Holy Throne of Heroes. My Master stood below the circling form of Sylphid who was perhaps a hundred feet above the two of us. She had at least made sure to land far enough away from battle that she would have time to escape if the golem tried to close. But what caught my eye was that she had apparently opened the ornate box that housed the Staff of Destruction, and was now waving the item in the air, offering it to me. She had probably assumed that with my own experience with weapons, I would be able to identify and use the powerful magic item. Only it wasn't a magic item.**

**It was a Root be damned rocket launcher!**

Rin opened her mouth closed it opened it again and then closed it as she shock her head.

"Saber-chan you misread please tell me you misread" When Saber gave Rin a look Rin know she was not joking Rin tried to dismiss technology. With that in mind Shirou hoped it made a difference Rin would see the power of tecnology.

**How the hell did a rocket launcher manage to make it all the way out to this technologically backwater middle of nowhere!**

**A question that could wait for another time. I met her eyes. She held the launcher out before her, wordlessly asking if it would be of use of me. I didn't know. I've rarely used anything besides my blades in combat, the myriad number I possessed offering more than enough versitility. I never learned how to use some of the more modern weaponry of my home world.**

**Still...I glanced at the runes on my hand and decided to take a chance. I had begun to formulate a hypothesis on just what those runes meant. If this didn't pan out, there was always the retreat option. With Fouquet probably long gone, there really wasn't any reason for us to hang around anymore.**

**Dismissing Hrunting from existence, I placed a hand on Derflinger's hilt, ensuring that the runes continued to glow, and darted back to Louise. She passed the launcher in front of her to me, and the moment my hands touched it my hypothesis was confirmed.**

**I could use this.**

**"Get to the side of me," I ordered my Master, removing the arming handle, and extending the inner tube. "There will be a back blast behind me, so make sure to avoid it."**

**"Right," she agreed instantly. She was tense. She was obviously scared, but had chosen to reenter combat in order to assist her Servant the only way that was still left to her. There would be words about this later, but my absolute surety that this was karma had me deciding that they wouldn't be nearly as harsh as they were last time.**

**Turning, I sighted at the damaged construct. It had regained its feet and was already resuming its lumbering pursuit. Sucks to be you, I thought at it, and pushed the firing mechanism.**

**The explosion that tore the annoying construct apart was immensely satisfying.**

***Scene Break***

**"So are you going to yell at me again?" Louise asked, sounding worried.**

**I sighed. "No, not this time," I admit. Sylphid stood nearby trilling happily, with Tabitha and Kirche as well.**

**Well, Tabitha stood nearby. Now that we no longer had to worry about potential death by dirt, Kirche had attached herself by her breasts firmly to the side of my head and was happily babbling as she rubbed them against me. Louise and I both ignored her. I was still coming down from the adrenaline of the fight, and Louise was apparently remembering what happened last time she deliberately put herself in harm's way.**

**"But you were so angry last time," the pinkette argued. I don't know why she was trying to convince me to be mad at her. I think she was trying to convince me to yell at her so that she could try and argue back to defend her actions.**

**"Last time you thoughtlessly put yourself directly in danger in the name of pride," I corrected. "This time you followed the planned strategy and only entered the battlefield obliquely while taking care to stay out of harm's way and solely for the purpose of delivering a weapon to aide your Servant in the conflict." I gave her a wry smile. "If you'd like, I could prepare a little lecture on the way back. I'm sure I can find something to knit pick at if you really want me too."**

**She growled at me briefly, and then crossed her arms and pouted. Well, she tried to anyway. The adrenaline was wearing off for her too, and she was looking around the battlefield with a smile forming. She was savoring the feeling it gave her: pride.**

**This was a victory. She had with her own power stood up in this conflict and she had done so marvelously. Tabitha and Kirche hadn't been able to do more than slow and blind the massive golem, but she herself had been able to deal a serious blow, and her Servant had done performed as well.**

**I had discarded the rocket launcher to the side, and in between face rubs by Kirche I noticed Longueville's approach from the side. "Did you find any traces?" I asked her, ready to finish this up and go home. With the thief long gone it was time to call it quits. With a smile she reached down and picked up the rocket launcher. She then placed it on her shoulder like she had seen me do and pointed it directly at us.**

**"What are you doing?" Louise noticed the secretary's actions and asked nervously, and Kirche glanced over to see what had shaken up the pink haired girl, and Tabitha glanced as well.**

**"Drop your wands and sword, and kneel on the ground," Longueville ordered.**

**"What do you mean?" Kirche said, also sounding nervous. I just looked at Longueville for a long moment and then dropped my head into my hand with a sigh.**

**"You're Fouquet, aren't you?" I asked for confirmation, sounding resigned.**

**"Yes," the secretary nodded, smiling mysteriously. "Now, wands and sword, on the ground."**

**Startled at the sudden betrayal, the girls followed the orders, and with another sigh I unbuckled the strap keeping Derflinger on my shoulder. While the girls knelt, I just crossed my arms and addressed Louise. "You see," I said, nodding at Fouquet without looking at her, my tone one of lecture. "This is what happens when you carelessly move someone out of the 'potential enemy' list."**

**"Shirou," Louise growled warningly at me. "Is now really the time for that?" she sounded a little strained. I shrugged carelessly and turned back to address Fouquet. She seemed annoyed at the fact that I was still standing, and backed away to put more distance between the two of us.**

**"You know," I said sounding a little apologetic, "in retrospect, some of the conversation we had on the way out here must have been really unnerving for you to sit through."**

**"Yes," she agreed instantly, not sounding worried. Having the impressively destructive weapon on her shoulder aimed at me probably helped her gather the confidence she'd had while facing me. "The part where you talked about dismembering me was particularly unsettling. If I hadn't needed you all to figure out how to use the Staff of Destruction, I would have called the whole thing off at that."**

**I kept my eyes on her, and when I spoke next it was in the soft toneless voice that Louise already recognized as my favored tone right before I unleashed violence upon someone. "If you put down the weapon and surrender, you will not be harmed." The three girls kneeling beside me glanced at me with confusion. It really didn't look like I was in any position to make demands. Too bad for them I was aware of something they weren't.**

**"You're a brave one, aren't you?" Fouquet laughed, and then smirked. "Good bye, gandalfr." Without another word she pressed the firing trigger.**

**Of course, nothing happened.**

**As confused silence reigned amongst the females I spoke up. "It's a weapon that launches projectiles. Kind of like a bow. And," I added, my voice distant, "it only had one shot." I narrowed my eyes at the now worried looking Fouquet. "You do realize that I'm going to kill you now, don't you?"**

**"But the headmaster said that he wanted me alive and mostly unharmed," she protested, discarding the useless rocket launcher on the ground and backing away slowly.**

**"That was before you attempted to launch a lethal attack on a group of unarmed school girls," I gritted out. Louise glanced at me, seeming surprised by my actions. I don't blame her. She had only seen me coldly furious. This, this was hot rage.**

**Even if it's been a few years, I still have something of a protective streak in me, and a ruthless attack on my unarmed allies and Master was more than enough to awaken it with a vengeance.**

Saber and Rin looked at each other and smiled happily.

**Fouquet seemed to realize just how grievous an error she had committed, and then the two of us were moving.**

**I traced a sword and in the same instance threw it. It was the same sword that Guiche had attempted to use on me, a sword of desperation. Its design was memorable and easy to recall, and its construction was durable yet simple. It was an fast blade to trace on a moment's notice. In response Fouquet instantly summoned a wall of dirt to spring out in front of her. It was a quick spell, almost as instantaneous as my own summons. She had obviously put some thought into her tactics for this encounter. The wall blocked my line of sight, keeping me from aiming at her accurately and forcing me to maneuver in response. She would no doubt be retreating at full speed, laying traps behind her all the way. She didn't want to fight me, she just wanted to escape now.**

**It would have been effective tactic if swords were the only thing in my arsenal. "Stay down," I snapped at the three girls and traced my next attack.**

**The blade I traced this time wasn't a sword at all. It was Kamaitachi, a kusarigama: an immense sickle and chain, once wielded by Yamada Shinryukan. It was the first time I ever traced this weapon. It was cursed, to always seek blood with every strike. It simply wasn't something I could use casually, and too different from my usual weapons to experiment safely with. But now on the other hand…**

**The runes on my hand shone, and with a shout of rage, I swung the immense scythe by the chain it was attached to. It flew in a wide arc above the heads of the three wide eyed girls, and swung obliquely around the edge of the wall of earth between me and Fouquet. Once there, it did as it was inclined to, and sought blood to spill.**

**Fouquet's scream pierced the air, loud shrill and pained. Without her concentration broken, the wall in front of us dissolved and I was able to see the effectiveness of my strike: she had apparently managed to see the blade coming in time to react, and had gotten an arm between it and her body. It had penetrated through the limb, apparently having been partially deflected by the bones of her forearm, but had managed to pierce deeply into her side despite the defense. She clutched at it desperately, her eyes wide with pain and shock.**

**With a twist of my wrist I separated the blade from her body an arch of blood splashing out from the wound, and I swung the kusarigama again, arching it back behind me and then high over my head. It whistled, and sped towards the defenseless thief who shrieked with wide eyes as the blade sought to spill her life blood.**

**"Stop!" my Master shrieked. The noise managed to penetrate the red haze of fury that had clouded my eyes, and I dissolved the projection, the blade barely scratching the neck of Fouquet before it dissolved. "Enough, Shirou," my Master continued, sounding tired but firm. "We're here to capture her. Do so now."**

**I grimaced, but obeyed. As I closed the ground between me and Fouquet, she stared up at me with a grimace, her eyes narrowed nearly to slits with pain. "My Master is merciful," I told her, my teeth still gritted. "I'm not that kind as to forget when someone tries to kill someone under my protection." I leaned in close, meeting her gaze fiercly. She tried to draw back, but was limited in movement by pain. "Give me an excuse to finish the job," I told her, and she understood that I was looking for one.**

**She made very sure not to give me any.**

***Scene Break***

_**That, Louise thought to herself as she collapsed onto the bed happily, had been a very satisfying day. She briefly thought back to the battle, to the return to the academy and the handing over of a very compliant Fouquet, to the battle, to the meeting with the headmaster afterward, to the battle, and to the Ball of Frigg after that, and most importantly the battle, and she sighed happily.**_

_**She had done it! She had stood up and cast magic that was useful. She had been more than just a nuisance. She had accomplished something! She sighed again, nearly crushing the pillow to her chest as she suppressed happy squeals at the thought.**_

_**Still it had been a long day. After learning that the headmaster was planning on getting Kirche and her the title of Chevalier, and Tabitha the Elven Medallion in reward, she had been a little disappointed when nothing awaited Shirou, but he had simply stated that the only reward he needed was a consultation with the headmaster. It seemed a little disproportionate to Louise, but if her Servant was fine with it, then so was she.**_

_**Later at the ball Louise had made it a point to have her first dance with him as well, though Kirche and even Tabitha had had a round with him later. It was important that she display some favor as reward for his superb actions. **_

_**Louise was not at all disturbed by the fact that she had had to keep Shirou from killing Fouquet. He had been well within his rights: the thief had tried to blatantly murder all four of them without blinking. If she hadn't needed to recover Fouquet in order to properly receive her rewards, she would have let him do so in a heartbeat. **_

_**That night, perhaps because of the excitement of the day, her dreams of swords and battle was particularly strange.**_

_**This time, there was no appearance of the girl in blue. This time, her Servant was fighting alone, against a man in red. **_

_**There was something wrong with the scene. Not that it was particularly unusual. The two exchanged strikes in the rubble of what had once been a very nice mansion she noticed. Even the fact that the two were using identical swords wasn't particularly strange. The man in red was probably the original user; she was already aware that her Servant seemed to have a habit of appropriating blades at will.**_

Rin smiled sadly she was looking forward to hearing this Saber and Shirou had not wanted to tack about it.

_**The oddness came from the presence of the two together. There was just something about seeing the two near each other that felt wrong, that felt off. There was something to their features, something to each of their presences that seemed to ping at her thoughts, just out of reach.**_

_**She couldn't help but notice the similarity of both of their features, her young Servant and his older opponent. She could see traces of the current Shirou in both of them, young and old. Perhaps the man in red was some kind of relative? Shirou had already said he didn't have any brothers or parents left, but maybe an uncle, or a cousin?**_

_**As she watched the two fight, she noticed something about the younger Servant's strikes that raised her curiosity. Over the course of these strange dreams she had begun to develop something of an eye for the pace of battle, the different scenes that she had witnessed expanding her experience, even if it was second hand, greatly. It was the rage with which the young Servant was swinging his blows.**_

_**It was a rage she had seen earlier. **_

_**She smiled slightly, a facial gesture that she had unknowingly started to imitate from her Servant. As she watched the anger of her young Servant she wondered fondly, who was he protecting this time?**_

**This is author notes now while Saber says she is not affected by true magic she is overestimating herself some magic Zelretch put was normal magic she negated those magic's but any true magic's that were on the laptop are affecting her. **


End file.
